May I? A Dummy Twins continuation
by LemonDropGarden
Summary: What do you think when you read the words "Dummy Twins Continuation"?... I think yes! ;) Here's mine. I hope you enjoy it! Please review! P.S. This fic will include missing scenes from episodes following Dummy Twins :)
1. Chapter 1

_**"...You're going to be saying 'Merry Christmas' to your friends in rehab and wondering what might have been!"**_

She couldn't drive to her regular gin joint and drink the night away now. Not with his last words haunting her. That would just prove him right.

She sat behind the wheel of her BMW. The engine had been running for a few minutes now but she hadn't yet pulled out of the parking spot outside the Sheffield mansion.

She stared at the road as she realized she was closing a huge chapter in her life. She had worked for and with Maxwell for 20 years, give or take a few. She had never considered leaving before. She had quit once but that was just a shock tactic to get Maxwell to make her a partner. There wasn't anyone else she could or would work with. He was easy to manipulate and that was one of the reasons she liked working with Maxwell Sheffield. _One of the reasons,_ she thought.

What would she do now? Where would she go? She wasn't ready to make her move.

She turned the key to kill the engine. She leaned her head back on the headrest and thought about her options.

People knew her in the theatre industry. She could cut a few deals, worm her way into a partnership with someone acclaimed…

_I don't have the spirit to start all over again._ She sighed. _What has happened to me? I've lost my will to fight..._

_Niles,_ she thought. _He took it all away. I was fine before he pointed it all out. I was happy! I was blissfully hap-... I was ignorant. Blissfully ignorant._

At least she wouldn't have to see him again now that she was resigning. _And he's_ _quitting,_ she reminded herself. She really would never see him again.

She played with the keys in her hand as she thought about it. She was leaving because she had always stayed too long at the fair and now that Maxwell was married and starting a family, she had no reason besides business to stay there. Why was Niles leaving? _He's being over-dramatic._

_**"At least I know when it's time to move on!"**_

"From scrubbing toilets?" She scoffed to herself as she recalled his words. "That ship should have sailed loooong ago!" She chuckled bitterly, wishing she had said that to his face at the time.

_What is he planning on moving on to? Another butler job? Another rich master with a secretary who would become a business partner he'd propose to?_ She smiled at the absurdity of the thought.

_Why did he feel the need to propose anyway?_ She wondered if he was so scared of being alone that he would grab desperately at the only available woman he interacted with everyday.

She laughed suddenly as she remembered his self-affirmation tapes she'd teased him about a few years before. "You _can_ get women!" She chuckled the line aloud in the car. Her laugh died quickly though when she realized she was talking to herself. She'd miss their games. It wouldn't be any fun remembering all his embarrassing moments now that she couldn't bring them up to taunt him anymore.

In her new life, new people wouldn't understand her jokes about him if she were to try to explain them. New people wouldn't understand the delicate relationship they had had. New people wouldn't understand why she found it all so funny. New people wouldn't understand her.

Nobody would understand her and be able to handle her. Not in the way that he could.

She looked out of her window to the back door of the mansion. She bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him. She wondered if she should thank him for putting up with her shit through the years. _He should thank me for putting up with his!_ She thought as her frustration returned.

He'd taken so much of her life. Even when he wasn't around, when she was out trying to make a good impression with some or other important person of her class, he'd still take up her focus.

His degrading remarks would sound through her subconscious and repetitively bruise her ego and confidence. If she hadn't been careful or known he liked to joke, she would have started behaving as if she deserved the things he told her she did.

_**"Look around you! They're married! They're starting a family! Where are you going to be ten, twenty years from now?"**_

She grunted at the memory of that comment_. _

_I have no idea. It won't be rehab, that's for sure. I won't let it be rehab. _

But Niles was usually right. It scared her.

Why did he have to bring up Max and Nanny Fine's marriage and family? Was he trying to highlight how pathetic her life was in comparison to theirs? Was he trying to show her what she had missed out on? Or was he offering it to her? Was he telling her she still had the chance to make memories she could be happy about ten or twenty years from now?

_Great, so he's not only thinking about marriage but a family too?_ She huffed in frustration. _Why had he been the one to think about it first? Why didn't I see it coming?_

She rubbed her forehead. "Stop thinking up all of these insane notions! You're making this so much bigger than it has to be!"

She looked over to the passenger seat where she had tossed her purse earlier. The tape recorder had slipped out onto the seat.

She reached for it and pressed the rewind button. _Wish I could do that in life!_ She pursed her lips and pressed play.

She recognized her voice first. "I'll have the chicken picatta."

"Will you marry me?"

She hit stop.

It didn't sound as funny as it did a few hours before. It had been funnier before he pointed out the direction in which her life was headed.

She rewinded and pressed play again.

"Will you marry me?"

She stopped the tape and put the recorder back into her purse. She sucked her teeth and looked back at mansion, wondering if he was still awake. He might be packing if he was serious about leaving first thing in the morning.

Now would be the only time she could ask him all of the questions that were plaguing her. Now would be the last chance for her to yell at him and fight with him and tell him how stupid he was being and how he was throwing a wrench into a machine that had been running smoothly for a decade or two.

She got out of her car, shut the door and locked it. She turned to face the house and took a deep breath before walking through the back door and into the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

If she had known he'd be in the kitchen, she would have gathered herself a little more before entering.

But right before her, at the kitchen table with his head down, he sat.

She stopped dead in her tracks. She wasn't prepared.

He looked up from the mug of coffee he was nursing. "Oh, what do _you_ want?" He rubbed his eyes forcefully. "Did you forget your bullshit on your way out?"

She looked at his hands and then turned to shut the door behind her with her eyes tightly shut. He almost never swore. It was unlike him. But she knew he'd still be angry. She still was.

When she didn't answer him, he asked her again why she was there. "I thought we cleared everything up." He stated without any hint of emotion.

She took another breath and faced him, clasping her hands in front of her and rubbing her lips together before she spoke. "I don't think we did. There's a lot that is still unclear."

He took a gulp from his coffee. "Like?"

"Like? Like everything!" She said, exasperated.

He looked up at her. "After tomorrow, you'll never have to worry about any of this again. Let's just forget about it."

"Forget about it?" She said a little loudly. Then she remembered she didn't want to wake the Sheffields so she lowered her voice and hissed, "You changed everything, Niles!" She pointed at him angrily as he rose to put his mug into the sink. "You proposed marriage! You're quitting tomorrow! And I'm resigning! It's hard to ignore this huge shift in the way things were!"

He frowned and looked up from the sink. "You're resigning?"

She threw her hands into the air and rolled her eyes. "Yes!"

"Why?"

"Are you kidding me?!" She jeered. "Can you be any more stupid? And that's _not_ a challenge!"

"Shh, keep your voice down, Babcock... Why are you resigning?" He asked again.

Her eyes flashed with anger. "Someone-" she shouted and then slightly lowered her voice when he motioned with his hands for her to do so. "Someone pointed out that I should learn when it's time to move on!"

"I didn't mean in business."

She grimaced at him. "I know! I'm not a moron! But business is where Maxwell is and you meant him, didn't you?" It wasn't a question.

"It doesn't matter what I meant. It's your decision in the end."

His non-committal responses were starting to get under her skin. He had just turned their worlds upside down and now he was acting like nothing he had said or done had ever mattered.

"Why are you here, Miss Babcock?" He asked for a third time, casting his eyes back into the sink of dishes.

Her eyes bulged in anger. If he wasn't going to give her the answers she was looking for, she'd use the opportunity to defend herself. She hadn't had time to think before he'd walked up the stairs those few hours ago. She had wanted to shout at him for acting like he was an expert on her life when he didn't know anything about her.

Before she could decide what to shout about, he added to his question.

"You must have come here to say something to me because you still haven't asked anything."

It was true. She wanted answers but was too afraid to ask the important questions that were plaguing her mind.

_Why are you changing the game? _

_Why did you propose? Four times? _

_If I tell you I __**do**__ have feelings for you, will you take back the proposals and laugh at me? _

_Are you proposing out of desperation?_

_Am I your last possible resort?_

_Are you doing this to get back at me for all the taunts and gibes of the past?_

_How do you __**really**__ feel about me? _

Or perhaps she should charge at him with the most important question of all, the one that underlies all of her other questions:

_Do you love me?_

If she were brave enough to ask it, it would lead to an even more difficult follow-up question: _Why do you love me and how could you possibly?_

But she couldn't bear hearing the wrong answer. She was angry with him for putting her in this position of uncertainty - a position in which he _could _be offering her everything she had ever wanted but he also _couldn't _be. He could be holding it out to her, offering it to her, only to rip it from her grasp. CC Babcock was not a woman who got what she wanted. She had fun thinking up evil ways to get what she wanted but never did in the end. She was used to being the loser. _Maybe it's time I accept that._

She didn't care that her voice had risen again when she huffed, "I came here to tell you that all of those things you said to me were so utterly and completely- so- so-..." She stopped suddenly.

He looked up at her from the sink.

CC took a breath. He frowned, expecting her to end that sentence with something rude and hurtful and for her to punctuate it by throwing something at him. Her silence was new.

"...true," She finished, quietly.

She looked down, licked her lips and scratched her brow, seemingly confused by her own response.

"I came here to shout at you and tell you how angry I am and how stupid and pathetic you are and how deeply you annoy and infuriate me and how you never say the right things!" She banged her fist on the island countertop and then shook her head. She was supposed to be angry! "But... you _were_ right."

He watched her intently, trying to figure out where she was headed with this. He was hopeful. If this was their last goodbye, he would love for it to be an honest one. He had laid it all on the table. He had told her everything on the stairs in the entrance hall in hope that she would come to her senses. It would be nice if she could give him a reason to believe that her refusal to marry him was about more than just him being a butler. He needed an explanation. He needed some closure.

"You came to tell me I was right?" He asked.

She looked up at him and pursed her lips before looking down again.

"I've been on the fast track to nowhere. You're predictions for my future are probably dead on. I'll land up old and alone, drowning my sorrows. Or in rehab, like you said." She looked at him. "That's if I have anyone left to care enough to put me there before I waste myself away with booze."

She moved to the kitchen table and sat down in the chair he had vacated.

"Those things won't happen if you don't let them." He moved closer and pulled out the seat next to hers to sit beside her.

She looked over at him and back at the table under her hands.

"I can't marry you, Niles," she said quietly.

"It was ambitious of me to ask."

She frowned at his reply as she looked up to study his profile. "No, not because of what you do," she said simply.

He met her eyes. She saw hope and confusion.

"Because of... who I am. I'm not referring to me being the '_Bitch of Broadway_', as you've so nicely termed me..." she smiled and he returned the gesture. "I mean, my personality. My own issues. It's just not who I am. I cant- How can I- I can't... be a good, loving, little wife."

Niles nodded in understanding even though he could clearly and vividly picture her as a wife - as _his wife. _

"Thank you, Niles." She said after a moment's silence.

"Hmm?"

"I also wanted to thank you. For saying all the things you said. I hated hearing it, _especially_ from you, but I needed a firm kick in the ass. No matter how harsh reality might sound, I suppose I needed to hear it."

"You're welcome." The corner of his mouth lifted as he attempted to smile out of politeness. "Anything I can do to kick you in the arse."

She chuckled.

CC decided there was nothing else she would have the courage to say. She was drained. She didn't have the strength to sit through this kind of thing all night. So she put the ball into his court. "Is there anything you wanted to say or ask me before I leave?" She queried.

"I'm afraid the wrong thing might slip out a fifth time." He smiled his famous lopsided grin.

She knew there was some truth in his joke but because his wit relieved the tension, she laughed anyway. He looked down as he laughed too. He'd miss her laughter. He wondered if he should tell her that. Or that they didn't have to start with marriage; that they could start small.

He chickened out. He'd rather leave things the way they were in that very moment. A more-or-less bearable farewell. A farewell of shared laughter that he could at least look back on with fondness. He was too afraid to ask more of her. His heart wouldn't take any more rejection.

"So I guess this is really goodbye?" He asked, regretfully. He looked at her hand where she had rested it on the table. He could easily just reach out...

"It would seem so." She answered in the same tired tone as she rose from her seat at the table.

"It's been nice playing with you, Babs."

She chuckled as he followed her to the door. "Yes, it has, Butler Boy. I've enjoyed messing with you, too. And... you know... Sorry. For all the bad times."

"There were good times, too. They cancelled out the bad times."

She looked down at the floor with a smile and then looked back up at him, still smiling and said, "Goodbye, Niles."

They looked at each other for a moment and she leaned in and hugged him gently. He closed his eyes to take in the warmth of the moment, not knowing that she had, too. Then she pulled away, patting his shoulder to muffle the sound of her pounding heart.

She turned to open the back door to leave and he held the door open for her. She smiled at him again before stepping over the threshold.

"May I kiss you one last time?"


	3. Chapter 3

"May I kiss you one last time?"

She turned to see his serious face and felt a sudden chill surge through her body. The tingle raced through her arms, her neck and into her cheeks, which felt so hot that she thought she must surely be blushing. Never in her wildest dreams would she ever have thought she'd hear him utter those words.

Her bottom jaw had lowered slightly, ready for the response her brain hadn't yet formulated. She blinked.

Niles looked down at his feet, regretting having asked. _Bad idea! Of course she'd say no. _He shook his head.

It's okay, forget I asked." He ran a hand through his hair and looked behind him at the kitchen table, wishing he had left things the way they had been seconds before.

He looked at her again. She was still frozen to the spot. "Goodbye, Miss Babcock. I... truly hope... that the rest of your life is one you'll enjoy. I'll, um. I'll miss you." He tried to smile but couldn't.

He turned to face the kitchen, unable to shut the door on her. She'd have to do that herself. As he began to climb the back stairs to his bedroom, he thought he heard her mutter something. He turned his head to see if it was his mind playing tricks on him. She had walked back inside and stood facing him in front of the kitchen island.

He stopped on the third step. "Did you say something?" He asked.

"Yes."

"I didn't catch it,"

"Yes..." She repeated, taking two steps towards him. "You- yes. You may-," she swallowed. "You may kiss me."

A mixture of surprise, happiness and relief ran over his face. He would have smiled or laughed but he didn't want her to think he was laughing at her vulnerability. He slowly took the two steps down towards the kitchen without taking his eyes off of her. When he stepped onto the kitchen tiles, he paused. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

He took another step towards her and she stepped backwards to the island. He paused again, wondering if she had changed her mind. He wondered that a lot with her.

She glanced at his body and then returned her studying eye to his face.

She cleared her throat. "Well? I don't have all night to spend here with you. I... have a letter of resignation to write."

He walked right up to her. He noticed her chest had risen with the breath she was holding and her shoulders were scrunched in tension. He knew she was nervous. Her eyes, darting between his own, were the third giveaway.

Twice, she clenched and unclenched her hands at her sides as he took the tiniest last step towards her.

He was so near she could feel the energy radiating off of him. She saw his eyes drop to her lips. He lifted his hand and gently brushed her hair away from her cheek. He tucked it behind her ear to reveal her black earrings. She flinched slightly because she wasn't expecting the gesture. It made her tummy flip.

He licked his lips and she decided she should do the same. She cleared her throat as her nerves reached their tether. She needed to do something to feel in control again. She lifted her hands and placed her palms on his chest with her fingers reaching up to his shoulders. Then she lifted her chin, fixed her posture and squared her shoulders to make herself feel more confident and get her head in the game so her heart wouldn't run away with the moment.

He was dragging it out. She knew it would be the last time he had the chance to kiss her but did he really have to linger on the moment this much? The build-up was killing her. Her mind was beginning to give up and let her heart run things.

Her confidence didn't last long. Her breathing sped up and her eyes darted to a random spot beside them as she waited for the contact. She licked her lips again.

"Look at me?" He whispered, "please?"

She exhaled a large breath and looked at him as her body tingled again after his request.

He traced his fingers down her cheek and rested his thumb on the corner of her mouth.

She blinked a few times as her lids fought to flutter closed.

He brought his lips to hers slowly and as they touched, her eyes gently, involuntarily, flittered shut. He'd never kissed her like this before. It felt personal; intimate. It was slow and in complete contrast to the bolts of electricity that began racing through her entire body.

This wasn't like the crazed and passionate kiss of a few years before, which had been fueled by alcohol, self-pity, sexual frustration and tension.

_This _one was full of frowns and withheld tears... like a desperate and sorrowful last goodbye... or a relieved hello.

Niles felt as though he were tasting her for the first time and savouring her, knowing it would be the last.

He traced his fingers down from where he had rested them next to the corner of her mouth. His fingertips brushed along her jaw towards her ear and then dipped delicately onto her neck.

When the pressure from his lips eased slightly, CC thought that would be the end of it. She tried to conjure up the stoic, confident aura she needed to portray after the kiss.

But Niles merely tilted his head to the left and timidly pushed his lips against hers once again. She almost allowed herself to whimper. She curled her fingers where they rested against his chest. She had missed kissing him. When other men kissed her, she never felt anything as strongly as she did when he would kiss her. She wondered if he felt it too and whether he had felt it the other times they had kissed in the past.

CC's fingers inched up extremely slowly in the direction of his neck. She was afraid to make a sudden movement. She didn't want to distract him from what he was doing to her.

With their lips locked, Niles breathed in her perfume deeply through his nose and she felt his bottom lip begin to tremble before he pulled his lips from hers, dropped his hand from her neck and cast his eyes to floor.

She opened her eyes and swallowed hard, missing the contact she hadn't thought she had wanted this much. Her hands were still suspended in mid-air before her. She watched as he licked his lips and lifted his hand to cover the tremble she had felt in his kiss. He took a few steps backwards towards the stairs, still looking down at the tiles on the floor.

"I wish you'd let me- or anybody-" he whispered. He cast a sidelong glance with his head still drooped. He changed course. "Um... Thank you. Miss Babcock."

Her heart dropped and she sighed inwardly, noting the heartbreak in his expression. She didn't feel as though she'd given him anything. She felt as though _he'd_ given _her _that kiss.

_Maybe he didn't propose because __**he **__was lonely and desperate for affection... Maybe he sees that __**I **__am. Maybe he just has love and affection to offer... and wants to give it to __**me**_...

She wished he had said what he started saying before the 'thank you'. She also found herself wishing the kiss hadn't ended. She wished it could have escalated to the kind of passionate embrace she knew they were both capable of. She couldn't stop thinking about it now that she had got another taste of him.

"That's it?" She cleared the frog from her throat when she realized she had asked that out aloud.

His head bolted up to see her expression. She had raised her eyebrows.

She decided to be bold. "That's... the last one you'll get and... that's all you want?" CC wanted more. She wished he would say that he did, too.

He was stunned. '_That's it?' Didn't she feel what I felt in that kiss? Oh, what am I questioning this for? She's considering letting me kiss her again!_

"And I thought you said _I _was chicken." She smirked.

His heart beat frantically as she took a step in his direction. They watched each other, both unsure of what was happening.

He must have been thinking about the same thing she was. _That _kiss.

"One last time?" He asked hastily before he could lose his nerve. He took a small but fast step towards her.

Her chest began heaving. "For old times' sake?" she shrugged in question and her upper body leaned forward as if she were preparing to run.

In an instant, they launched themselves at one another and kissed ferociously. CC grabbed at his face and pulled her body tightly against his in the same way she had during their last passionate kiss. He gripped his arms around her red blazer at her lower back. She lifted her hands from his face and wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her snugly against him. She whimpered and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. When their tongues met, it transported her back to that night. Her cheeks flushed and she found herself lifted to ecstasy, with the realisation that it didn't need to be a faint memory anymore, now that she was experiencing it again.

He released his arms' grip around her back and slid his hands to her hips as his tongue massaged hers. When she moaned in delight, his hips bucked into hers and she felt him grunt into her mouth.

She hummed against his mouth as she pulled her tongue away and kissed him, open-mouthed, on the lips.

"If this is going to be the last time..." She mumbled between kisses.

"Hmm.." His mouth vibrated against hers.

She sighed audibly. "It wouldn't be-" _*kiss* "..._the end of the world if we..."

He was barely listening to her. He tilted her head with his hands and kissed her again. She was finding it difficult to finish her sentence with the way he held and caressed her.

He sucked on her lower lip and she whimpered as she began to feel more and more sensitive below the belt. She clenched at the feeling of her arousal and whispered, "Take me to your room?"

He pulled his lips from hers and his eyes danced across her face. He took her hands in his and walked backwards towards the stairs.

When his heel bumped the first step, she retracted one of her hands from his and he was certain that she had really changed her mind this time until he saw her reach for the button of her red blazer. She deftly popped it open and shrugged as she offered her hand to him once again.

"What? I'm hot," she said with a naughty smile.

"Mmhmm," he hummed in amusement (and agreement).

She grinned as he took her hand, pulling her to him at the foot of the stairs. He pecked her lips, looked at her and then pecked them again before turning and pulling her up the stairs, two at a time.


	4. Chapter 4

When they reached the landing of the stairs before his bedroom, he looked at her over his shoulder as he reached for the doorknob. She smiled at him shyly and then looked down at his hand in hers.

He opened the door and she shoved him gently into his room, bumping the door shut behind her.

"Easy, woman!" He grinned.

She giggled in a way that made him nervous about what she was planning in her pretty little head. She stepped towards him and he backed up until his legs were against his bed.

She paused and looked at him for a moment, studying him. She wanted to jump his bones after those kisses. She couldn't believe he had brought her up here. It made her excited and nervous all at once. She hadn't been with a man in a while. And she hadn't been with Niles, ever.

She stalled. She put her hands behind her back and looked around his room with a goofy smile on her face. "So... This is where you would cook up all your best evil schemes against me?"

He followed her eyes around the room and chuckled. "Some of them, yes. But you won't find any evidence. I'm not that sloppy," he winked. She chuckled.

"It's funny I'd never set foot in here all these years."

"You always said you wouldn't go near it," he joked.

She smirked. "No, I said that about your mattress."

"Ah, I see." He nodded with a chuckle and sat down, wiping her lipstick from his mouth. She smiled at him and he patted the spot beside him on the bed. "This is your last chance. Tomorrow this might not even be my room anymore."

"Might?" She asked as she moved closer to the bed, suddenly anxious to be near him. Her nerves were pulsating so strongly that she almost couldn't bend to sit down. She hoped the question would distract her as she got near to him again.

"Well... It all depends on whether I can bear waking up here every morning since... I mean... since-"

"Since I said no?"

He looked up at her but didn't answer.

She rubbed her lips together and sat down next to him. "You don't have to go if I'm resigning."

She nudged him playfully and added, "I wouldn't be here to taunt you. You wouldn't have to put up with this face," she grinned in an exaggerated manner and batted her lashes at him to cheer him up.

He smiled at the face he would kiss even when it looked silly. He glanced down at her body. "When I quit, it wasn't just because you said no and that you'd hold it over my head. The thought of having to see you everyday after making such a fool of myself..." He looked at his hands clasped in his lap. "Or worse, _not_ seeing you and having all of these memories of you in this house would just be..." He shrugged. "I couldn't imagine surviving here, alone everyday, whether you were here or not. Not after I'd already pictured a better future, a happier one... with you."

His heart started skipping beats as he realized how honest he was being with her while she sat closely beside him on _his_ bed in _his_ room. Perhaps he hadn't told her everything he could have on the stairs hours ago.

Niles thought about the time he had bought flowers for her and almost told her how he felt about her before she got dumped. This moment would have happened so much sooner. So much time had been wasted.

CC felt elated and awful at the same time. She felt tears fighting their way up and she swallowed them away. She knew exactly what he meant. He was the first regret she had had when she had been stranded in a car in a blizzard with Maxwell and Grace. She remembered thinking that if they'd never make it out alive, she'd never have the chance to be with Niles. Here he was, thinking his feelings were one-sided and that his heart was being ripped to shreds without so much as bothering her.

She needed him to know that it _did_ bother her and that she _did_ have a heart... and feelings... for him.

"Believe it or not, I'd miss you, too. Niles, I _do _care about you. You're-" He looked at her and it made her self-conscious. "Um, you're like... a limb to me."

He frowned. She was no good at these things.

"Sometimes I'll get those annoying pins and needles when it falls asleep but I wouldn't want to amputate it. I just need to slap it around a little before I can love it again." She smiled and he looked down. "It would be hard to live without it," she added, "Without... you." She blushed with her confession and scratched the front of her neck.

When she saw the reaction she had wanted: a genuine smile tugging at his lips, she felt it was worth it telling him and relief washed over her.

He decided not to question her use of the L-word.

_It'll be hard for you to live without me?_ He wanted her to confirm what she'd just said. He thought he was hearing things. He was too afraid to ask her that, so instead, he smirked and asked, "You'll miss me?"

She looked down and smiled shyly. "Don't let it go to your head, bell boy."

"I love when you call me that."

She looked up and let her orbs travel to his lips. "It's supposed to be an insult," she lied. It was an endearment.

"It _was_. But not since that night... trollop." He placed his hand on the bed behind her and turned his upper body slightly in her direction, smirking.

She knew he was referring to the night of _that_ kiss. On her lips, she could still feel the replay that had happened downstairs not a minute before.

She lifted her eyes to his and then looked at his lips again. She couldn't wait any longer. "Bell boy…" she murmured.

He crashed his lips to hers. When she kissed him back, he placed his hand on her opposite thigh. She crossed her legs towards him and rested her hand on his on her thigh.

He lifted his other hand from the bed and snaked it under her blazer. She pulled away from him and removed her blazer completely. He watched her with an expression as serious as the situation.

She reached out and ran her hands down his chest as if studying the contours hidden under his powder blue shirt. She lifted her hand up to his collar and nervously loosened his tie while she looked at him for his response.

He smiled at her. She was too nervous to return it.

He ran his hands down her arms from where her black top covered her shoulders to where her wrists rested near his chest and then he kissed her.

She relaxed a little and moved her hands to his buttons. He helped her unbutton his shirt and when it was open, she gingerly touched her fingertips to his undershirt before she pushed his shirt off of his shoulders completely.

He reached down and picked up her foot, removing her heel and ankle stocking. She rested her palms on the bed, leaned back and lifted her other leg to allow him to remove that one as well. She smiled when he did and she lifted both legs onto the bed.

She shifted away from him until she was leaning against his pillows at the wooden headboard. She ran her hands over the intricate, burgundy fabric of his bed linen.

"Make yourself at home," he teased.

She grinned and curled her index finger to beckon him nearer.

He kicked off his shoes, moved up the bed to sit to her right and leaned on his hand, facing her. She watched as his eyes travelled slowly down her body.

She could tell he was excited but hesitant to make a move even though his eyes were touching her so thoroughly. She'd never felt so wanted. Never before had a man ogled her like she was a sexual being, a beautiful woman.

She shifted onto her side and leaned over to kiss his cheek. As she pulled back, he followed her body and leaned over her, placing a hand around her to rest on the bed to her left. He kissed her and then took a hold of her hips to tug her down from her half-sitting position.

She gasped and her breathing quickened at his sudden force. She leaned her head down on the pillow and felt her hands tremble as she ran them over his chest. She hadn't realized how nervous she was.

With his legs still stretched out beside hers, Niles rested some of his upper body weight on her chest as they kissed. He lifted his hand from the other side of her to caress her hip.

He slid his hand under her black shirt and she jolted and pulled her lips from his at the feel of his fingers on her bare skin. He pulled his hand away, hoping he hadn't spooked her. He watched as she swallowed hard.

Niles had never touched her so intimately (and soberly) before. It thrilled her and she knew it had been coming but the sensation had still caught her off-guard. She caught her breath and shifted her body underneath his so that she was lying more comfortably.

She took his hand, which had been suspended between them, and guided it back to the spot on her hip under her shirt where it had been before. She took a deep breath, then sighed. "Okay, go ahead," she whispered and they smiled at one another before he dipped his head to kiss her again.

As they kissed, he ran his hand up her body to the edge of her bra, she arched into his touch and sighed into his kiss. He lowered his hand to her hips, down her side to her thigh and gently tugged her to pull himself closer. She lifted her leg and placed it around his after he slowly shifted more of his weight onto her. She was shocked when she felt his bulge at her thigh. This was all still so unreal to her. It made her thigh muscle twitch. When he ran his hand back up to her skin under her shirt, she groaned and whispered, "Just get it off."

He held his weight off of her and watched as she sat up a little and pulled her shirt over her head before he could do it for her. She tossed it aside and pulled him against her quickly, saying, "Don't look." She kissed him and he frowned and pulled away from her as far as she would allow.

"I finally have the chance and you won't let me?"

Her tummy dropped. She still couldn't wrap her head around the idea that he had ever thought of her in this way - that he'd ever thought of touching her and seeing her - especially after all of the insults.

"You _know_ I'm not much to look at," she reminded him.

He looked at her pointedly. "I didn't mean any of that."

She pursed her lips and looked at him as though she didn't believe a word he'd said.

"I was trying to convince _myself_ I didn't want you because I didn't think I could ever have you."

CC released her grip on him as she decoded his confession. She looked into his eyes to search for a sign that it was a lie - a tactic to sleep with her. She didn't find it.

She lowered her arms from around his neck and rested them loosely on his shoulders.

"You're beautiful," he whispered. Her eyes darted between his. He had said it once before at Maxwell & Fran's wedding but he'd been drinking that night. Still, she hadn't forgotten.

"You're sophisticated, you're witty..."

Her heart jumped. He hadn't forgotten either.

She watched as he lifted his body from hers and glanced between them and then up at her face before lowering his lips to her neck and then her chest.

"...You're sexy."

She swallowed as he slid his hand up from her waist to her bra just under her arm. She was sensitive there. She sighed as he kissed the tops of her breasts.

"Ahh, Niles..." She moaned in a quiet whisper.

He dropped his head onto her and adjusted himself in his pants at the sound of his name on her lips.

He moved further down and kissed her where the bottoms of her ribs parted. She inhaled sharply. He dipped further and kissed her above her naval.

"Uhh, come back." She mumbled in pleasure.

"No," he muttered and kissed her to the inside of her hip.

She bucked against him. "Come back!" She knew she wouldn't be able to control herself if he went any lower.

"No," he repeated, cheekily.

He reached for the button of her trousers and undid it. He looked up at her writhing body. She was pushing her ass backwards into the bed in an effort not to jerk into his face. The sight was turning him on.

He lowered the zipper on her trousers.

"Niles!" She warned and bounced up onto her elbows.

He grinned at her and moved up her body to kiss her again, this time reveling in the feel of being able to rest his lower half between her legs.

She moaned into his mouth, put a hand around his neck and pushed off of her other elbow to force him onto his back. She straddled his hips and he smiled up at her when he took in the sight of her bra-clad body above him. She wasn't shy about it anymore. He was glad she had trusted him to be honest with her.

She shifted against him. He felt his member twitch and knew she would feel it too. She bit her lip and smiled before she leaned down and began planting kisses on his lips and jaw.

He ran his hands over her back and eventually stopped at her bra, fiddling with it a few times and dying to unclasp it.

She pulled her lips from his, sat up and pulled his hands from her back. Then, she reached behind her and unclasped it herself. She held the open bra in place, suddenly unsure if she was ready for Niles to really see her. She watched for his reaction. He reached up and slid one of her straps down until it fell against her upper arm. He watched her face as he did the same with the other. She still hadn't released her grip on her cups.

He sat up from under her and began kissing her gently. He wrapped his arms around her lower back tightly, pushing his chest against hers and he smiled when he felt her pull her bra out from between them. He knew she would be more comfortable when he wasn't looking. She pushed her breasts against his chest and he sighed at the sensation.

Niles pulled her down with him and they continued kissing at a leisurely pace as he massaged the area on her back where her bra had been as if it were the one part of her body he'd always dreamed of touching.

CC reached down between them and undid his pants. He didn't stop her. She tugged them down and smiled when she looked up to see him watching her. She loved it when she could make _him_ feel vulnerable.

He stretched his hand out next to them on his bed and pulled down the duvet covers to reveal the sheets.

He rolled her over onto her back and they kicked the covers out of the way of their feet. She covered her breasts with her hands when he lifted off of her. He pulled off his pants completely and then laid his hands at the waistband of hers. He looked up at her and she took a moment before she nodded. He slowly tugged her trousers down and sighed at finally seeing her black lace underwear.

He looked into her eyes and smiled as he traced his fingers along the leg of her panties from her outer to inner thigh. She frowned and quivered at his touch. He loved the little shake her body had produced so he did it again, this time lowering his fingers even closer to her center at her inner thigh. She jolted and hissed his name. He grinned and leaned down to kiss her hands that were shielding her breasts from his view.

He kissed both hands and then kissed the parts of her breasts that were unshielded. She wiggled and writhed below him. He rested his hips between her legs again and sucked on her fingers. She finally let go of her breasts and threaded her fingers through his hair. He licked and then kissed her left breast near her nipple, repeating the action on the other. She gasped in delight and wrapped her leg around his hip.

She was astonished to find herself in this position with him; not that she'd never secretly fantasized about it. She just never thought it would be a reality, especially without the veil of alcohol (or special, Chinese, herbal cookies).

He pushed his body against hers as he slid up to her neck. He licked her and then reached down to dip his fingers through the strap of her underwear at her side. She pushed her pelvis up against him and pulled his face to hers to make out with him forcefully.

She gasped audibly when she felt his fingers touch her bare core. She gripped his lower half tighter with her leg. She felt as though she was going to lose it soon. She reached down to tug his wrist from inside her underwear. The tension that had built up between them over the years was all stampeding to the forefront and she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle him touching her like this.

Niles wouldn't let her pull his hand away. He slowly touched her lips, drawing his fingertips up to her clitoris. She almost screamed at the sensation. She released his wrist and brought her hand up to grip her fingernails into his shoulder. She couldn't concentrate on kissing him. He began circling a finger on her nub in a constant motion and her breathing fluctuated.

She started to lurch against his hand and became self-conscious when she felt his finger nearing her entrance. She tried to stop him. She didn't want to be so vulnerable in front of him. She didn't want to be the first one to lose control. She wanted him to be in this too... But he made it feel so good. She whimpered and when she felt his erection push at her thigh and heard him grunt and moan a 'Miss Babcock', she realized this was affecting him as much as it did her. So she let him continue.

He slowly dipped two fingers inside of her and she emitted a deep gasp. She was immensely sensitive to his touch and started to clench around him before he moved his digits. He pushed his lips against hers and began kissing her deeply. He slid his tongue into her open mouth as he thrust his fingers into her. She gasped against his kiss and struggled to battle his tongue.

She pulled her lips from his and pushed her face into the crook of his neck, her whimpering cry filling his ears. She tugged at his ass as he continued to pump his fingers. He was hitting the spot. _Already._

"Niles!" She cried. He moaned and continued his fingering.

"I- auh." He felt her clench around his fingers as her body jerked and she pushed her teeth roughly against his neck. She shook beneath him as intense pleasure washed over her.

She hadn't expected to come so soon.

He drew his fingers out and dragged them up to touch her clitoris. She kissed him as her pelvis lifted into his touch.

She was still panting when she traced the band of his boxers and started to tug it down.

"Damn it!"

"What?" She asked, worriedly and stopped her ministrations.

"I um... I don't have a..." He said quietly.

"A rubber?"

"A condom, yes."

He didn't want that to stop them. He wanted her so badly, for so long, and if she were still planning on resigning the next morning, this would be it for him.

She licked her lips. "We- I'm on birth control. I can uh... I can take the morning after pill." She blushed. Speaking about it made them realize how seriously intimate things were about to become.

He watched as her cheeks coloured. He smiled and she did, too. He leaned down to kiss her but stopped, feeling as though they were starting again. The break in their hazed and lusty rush had made them both stop to think.

As he looked down at her, Niles was suddenly as nervous as he'd been before she came up to his room. So nervous that he was afraid to kiss her. It was ridiculous. His hand was still resting in her panties and he couldn't gather the courage to kiss her?

CC noticed his hesitation. She lifted her head slowly, kissed him gently on the lips and then rested her head. He watched her. He seemed frozen in time as he realized his dream was about to come true. _CC Babcock,_ her name rang through his mind.

She reached down and pulled his hand out of her underwear. She placed both of her hands on his cheeks to gain his focus and said, "Kiss me, Niles."

She woke him. His eyes seemed to come out of their stare and really look at her.

"This is happening." He said. It sounded like a statement but CC knew it was a question.

She lifted her knee higher on his hip and nodded at him.

He swallowed and smiled. Then he leaned down and started to kiss her gently, the way he had started it all in the kitchen.

CC smiled into the kiss and reached between them for the second time. She tugged his boxers down and his member sprang out to graze her lace delicates. She hummed at the contact. He reached for her underwear and she dropped her leg from around him.

Niles waited for the little lift of her hips that would allow him to remove them. When her pelvis rose off of the bed, he smiled and peeled the material off of her. He swallowed as he took in the sight of her fully naked body. But not for long. She hauled him against her and wrapped both legs around his ass. She used her legs to push on his upper thighs, just below his butt cheeks, in an effort to draw him closer. He knew she wouldn't wait and he couldn't either.

With his nose rubbing against hers before he kissed her, he aligned himself and slowly sheathed within her. They both moaned at the sensation. She clenched her muscles around him a few times and he could barely contain himself. He began rocking against her and soon they met a steady rhythm. When they did, she revealed something he never dreamed he would hear her utter: "I've... fantasized... about this."

His body jolted with electricity. He was stunned and rocked his hips against her more frantically as he leaned down to kiss her. "Me, too. Too often." He whispered between moans. She whimpered at the confirmation that he really had wanted her all this time.

Their movements became erratic and he felt the signs that she was ready. He delighted in having that carnal knowledge now - that insight of her body and her reactions.

As he drew out of her, he felt her tighten and knew he would be sent over the edge too as soon as he tried to squeeze back into her.

Niles pushed into her and she felt her toes curl and her entire body stiffen as she came. He pumped in and out of her a few more times; the friction she had created was driving him near to climax. He soon came, too, and bumped against her a few times before calming his movements. Eventually he stilled and pecked her lips softly. Her heart fluttered as he reached up to move a strand of her hair from her face. He pecked her lips again. She felt his hot breath against her chin as he tried to catch his breath.

They were both panting, still feeling as though they could be sent overboard a second time if they moved. He rested his head against her and held her tightly, unwilling to release her. He breathed in her scent. Then lifted his head as well as a hand to touch her.

He traced his fingers down her cheek and delicately feathered them across her neck, watching his fingers move as though studying her skin intensely. She smiled as she watched him.

He kissed her neck where his fingers had been and then looked into her eyes. He felt her intimate muscles grip him when their eyes met. She could no longer hide the effect he had on her now. Now, he knew what happened inside of her whenever he looked at her. She swallowed.

He moved his pelvis back and forth ever so slightly, with his eyes locked on hers to watch her reaction. Her body tensed and she sighed as her inner walls gripped his now-flaccid penis. _Insatiable,_ he thought. He'd love to go again but she'd have to wait a while for his body to be ready. He rocked against her once more, just for her enjoyment, and grinned at her. She moaned and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. He leaned in and they kissed tenderly a few times before he slipped out of her.

He rolled onto his back, wondering if she'd be one of those women who wanted to cuddle. He doubted it. She didn't put her head on his chest or wrap an arm around his middle. He sat up and reached for the sheet near their feet, pulling it up over them and he tucked it around her breasts for her as he kissed her shoulder.

When he looked into her eyes, she was already watching him with a smile. He moved himself onto his side and draped an arm over her waist possessively. She grinned.

"I don't think I can resign tomorrow," she said and scrunched her nose, pretending to be thinking hard. "I still need to do things here,"

She turned her head in the pillow to look at him. She'd never seen so many of his teeth in a smile before.

"I suppose Miss CC Babcock expects me to help do it all for her?"

She laughed and enjoyed the butterflies she felt when he said her name. "Naturally. I can't do _everything_ myself. And you do it better than anyone."

He grinned and stretched to kiss her cheek. She giggled at how affectionate and gentle he could be with her.

"So you'll need to stay, too, then. You know, so I can work properly; take my frustrations out on you..." She said it in the tone she usually used to order him around.

"You're proposing we do this again?" He asked to be certain. He didn't want to get his hopes up on a metaphor.

CC took his hand to her lips, kissed his palm and then placed it back over her middle. She played with the hair on his forearm.

"Of course. Why else would I be staying?" She said as if he had just asked the most ridiculous question. "And it is _my_ turn to propose something, isn't it?" She smirked.

She lifted her hand to her pillow to get comfortable and closed her eyes, trying to get rid of her giddiness. He was quiet. She opened one eye to check his reaction. He seemed to be waiting for something.

"I'm staying for you, dust mop. Honestly, Niles, you're going to have to learn to keep up with me if I'm going to keep you."

"Yes, sir," He smirked.

"I prefer 'lover'," she grinned.

He reached over and kissed her sensually. She hummed her approval.

He parted from her and her body tingled as he spoke. "Yes, my love."

She decided not to correct him.

He pecked her shoulder and they both fell asleep, smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours later, Niles awoke to something nudging him in the stomach. He opened his eyes to see CC looking at him. She had turned onto her side to face him and was holding the sheets up high against her chest.

"Hi," she scrunched her nose with a smile.

"Hi," he grinned back and rubbed his eye.

"Something woke me," she said.

He lifted the sheet and looked down at himself. "Nope, I'm quite sure he's still asleep."

She snorted out a laugh and then bit her bottom lip. "No, not you." She brought her hands up to rest them on the pillow under her cheek.

"I thought I heard something so I woke up... and then I realized how hungry I am. I didn't have dinner. Could you get me something?" She smiled innocently, pleading with him.

"I didn't realize you were staying for me to do _those_ kinds of things for you," he teased.

She grinned. "Oh, I'm not. But I thought we could work some food into the reason I _am _staying." She reached out and ran a hand down his chest.

He lifted his eyebrows in excitement.

"I would have gone down myself but I couldn't risk walking around the house in the middle of the night wearing nothing but your robe. What if someone was down there and saw me?"

"Well, I know what would happen if _I_ saw you wearing nothing but my robe."

She waited for a jab but none came. Instead, he looked at her suggestively. Her eyes widened and she smiled.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll go down and get something. Any requests?" He asked as he reached for his robe, which had somehow appeared on the bed. She must have found it and tried it on before she realized she couldn't go downstairs.

CC sat up and watched as he wrapped it around himself and got off the bed, slipping on his boxer briefs and pajama pants and grabbing his night slippers from the corner of the room.

"Umm... Something we can enjoy together." She bit her bottom lip and smiled evilly. "With lots of calories 'cause you wore me out."

He grinned as he circled the bed to get to the door. Before he walked out, he went up to her, put his hand on her cheek to tilt her face to his and he kissed her. If it weren't that dark in the room, CC was sure he'd see her cheeks painted crimson.

_This whole situation isn't supposed to be loving, _she thought. _It's supposed to be hot and about sex... mostly. _He turned to leave and she grabbed his leg. He faced her and she puckered her lips. He smiled and bent to kiss her again. She nipped his bottom lip teasingly and smirked at him when he stood tall again.

"Hurry back, sexy."

Her comment stunned them both and they smiled at each other as he opened the door. He checked that the coast was clear, stepped into the hallway and then turned to shut his door. He took another peek at her before he did.

CC Babcock was sitting up, in his bed, holding a sheet against her bare chest with her hair slightly disheveled, and she was smiling at him; smiling _because_ of him! He felt as though he were on Cloud Nine as he took the stairs down into the kitchen.

_She thinks I'm sexy... _He thought with a smug grin. He felt like he could dance on water. He started singing as he entered the kitchen.

He hadn't realized the lights were on or that he wasn't alone until he reached the refrigerator. His eyes bulged in surprise as he met the questioning stares of Fran and Maxwell.

"I uh... Couldn't sleep. I was uh..."

"Too sexy?" Fran queried.

Niles hoped his demeanor didn't make them too curious. He was supposed to be upset since they last saw him. He opened the fridge and grabbed a few sweet, high calorie items he knew he'd enjoy eating with (and off of) Miss Babcock.

Fran said something about him quitting. He shut the fridge door with a banana in his mouth. She questioned whether the smile on his banana meant he was staying... _If she only knew. _He confirmed her suspicions and walked to the kitchen table to grab a few serviettes.

"You've got an arm full of toppings there... Don't you need something to put it all on?" Maxwell asked.

"Um. I have something in my room." Niles replied and ran up the stairs before they could ask any more questions.

When the door handle creaked, CC clutched the sheet tightly against her breasts and pulled her knees to her chest. She felt a sudden fear that it might be someone other than Niles. It wasn't.

She smiled when she saw him carrying in a bunch of treats. He kicked the door closed with his foot and walked towards her. He gently dropped the items onto the bed in front of her and stepped out of his slippers. He dropped his robe to the floor and climbed over her to his side of the bed.

She smiled as she looked through what he'd brought. "Niles, these are all toppings?"

He grinned and raised an eyebrow at her as he lifted the sheet to put his legs under it.

"Oh, I am so onto you, merry maid!" She grinned back, shaking her head.

He licked his lips as he reached for the honey. He opened the container and dipped his finger into it. He looked at her bare back where the sheet wasn't covering her.

He lifted his honey-coated finger towards her bare shoulder.

"Don't you dare! I'll get all sticky!" She warned and leaned away from him.

He shrugged his shoulders and sucked the honey from his finger. He dipped his finger back into the honeypot and repeated the motion.

"Give me some, you little glutton," she taunted.

He shook his head. "Come get it."

CC smirked as he spread some honey onto his lips and held the honeypot away from her grasp.

She watched him for a moment to see what he would do if she didn't do what he was implying she should. When she didn't lean over and kiss him, he shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, more for me then." He licked the honey off of his lips and dipped a finger back into the container, bringing it to his mouth once more.

CC reached for his hand to stop him. She pulled his wrist closer to her face and sucked the honey from his finger. He watched her intently.

When she released his wrist, he coated his finger in some more of the sweet nectar and lifted it to her lips. This time, she didn't lick his finger. She drew his hand to her lips and spread the honey on like a lip balm. Then she covered his finger with her mouth and drew it out slowly, sucking the remainder of the honey from it.

He shifted closer to her side and leaned in to her. She puckered her lips, inviting him to kiss the honey off of them. He smiled as he took her offer. He sucked on her lips between kisses, which made CC smile against him.

It was strange kissing him a few hours after they had been intimate. She had always wondered whether the sexual tension between them would be quenched by one good roll in the hay... or if it would just make them want more.

Niles lifted a hand behind her and placed it gently on her bare back. She jumped slightly. She had almost forgotten she was naked under the sheet. He chuckled when he saw her expression. She was surprised by her own reactions to his touch.

"What do you think you're laughing at, Mister?"

CC dropped the sheet from her chest, turned, ascended onto her knees and lifted her leg over his lap to straddle him. He looked genuinely shocked. As of yet, this was the boldest step she'd taken towards making the first move. She draped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him.

When she pulled away, he stared at her, open-mouthed and unsure of what to do.

"Honey?" She asked.

"Yes?" He whispered into her face.

It was her turn to laugh as she pushed her breasts against his chest. "No, I meant let's have some more of it."

He smiled, embarrassed.

CC watched as he stuck his finger into the honey and spread it onto the skin of her shoulder. He stretched to lick and kiss it from her. She smiled at him and took the honeypot from his hand. She tilted the pot to allow some of the amber liquid to drip onto her breasts.

"Oops." She smiled. She spread her arms back behind her, leaned back and waited. He watched her as he took hold of her hips, lowered his head to her breasts and then licked and sucked them clean. When he finished, he looked up at her smiling face and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself to his chest to kiss him passionately.

Niles lowered his hands and tugged her closer by her butt cheeks. She moaned.

"You can't do that to me." He mumbled against her lips.

"Do what?"

"Moan like that. You have no idea what it does to me."

She pulled back to look at him. "You're the one making me do it. And I think I have a clue..." She smirked as she rocked her pelvis against his growing bulge.

"Uhh, Miss Babcock..." He grunted and tightened his grip on her hips.

She felt a rush when he called her that. It was a reminder that the man holding her knew exactly who she was and he was fine with what they were doing. Niles was fine with being intimate with her. She smiled. _Plus, _she mused, _it makes this all seem forbidden and even more sexy._

Niles reached for the whipped cream and popped off the lid. He watched her breasts jiggle as he forcefully shook the can. She giggled a "stop it", the look on his face revealing to her why he was shaking it a little longer than necessary.

He squirted a pathway from between her breasts down to her navel; then he looked up at her. He squirted a dollop a tiny bit lower and looked at her again. She raised an eyebrow and snatched the can from him, tossing it beside them; then she smashed her body against his, rubbing some of the cream onto his chest.

"I was going to eat that," he pouted playfully.

"You snooze, you lose, Bellboy." She smirked and pushed him down into the bed. She began licking the cream from his chest and planting kisses as she went.

CC felt her cheeks flush as she lowered her lips on his pecks and kissed him near his nipples. She hadn't yet explored his body before. _He_ had been the one caressing and touching _her_ before they had made love for the first time. She traced her fingers down his sides as she kissed him a little lower.

She halted when she began to doubt herself and her ability to turn him on. She felt awkward trying to arouse and seduce him. She had always done the opposite over the years. _This is Niles. _She thought as she watched her fingers tremble against his sides.

He sat up on his elbows. "Miss Babcock?" He rested a hand on hers at his side. She looked at him with a blank expression.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Um. Yeah. Must be having a sugar rush." She smiled.

The high pitch of her voice told him not to believe her. He sat up to gain a better view. Her shoulders were tense.


	6. Chapter 6

**"Are you alright?" **

**She nodded. "Um. Yeah. Must be having a sugar rush." She smiled. **

**The high pitch of her voice told him not to believe her. He sat up to gain a better view. Her shoulders were tense. **

He took her hands from his sides and lifted them over his shoulders before wrapping his arms tightly around her middle. He nuzzled his face into the dip at her neck and simply held her.

She waited for a kiss or a lick or something but it never came. He merely remained holding her.

She relaxed into his arms and sighed as she closed her eyes and rested her head against his. She smelled his skin and sighed again.

"I'm in heaven," he whispered into her neck. She opened her eyes, initially surprised and then smiled, lifting her head from against his. He turned his face to kiss her cheek as he ran his hands up her back and down again. Her heartbeat increased rapidly.

"Do I- Do I turn you on, Niles?" She asked, genuinely curious.

He was surprised. "Are you joking?"

She frowned.

He laughed. "I've been dreaming about being with you for years. You could turn me on just by getting flustered about a bad cup of coffee I made for you."

Her eyes moved between his. She was still frowning. She was still processing his words.

"You're a beautiful woman, Miss Babcock. How could I notice you in this house everyday and _not _be attracted to you? You're stunning."

Her body tingled at his admission. She'd never heard him talk like this before, especially not about her.

"You just want to have sex with me." She smirked.

"And you're smart, too!" He grinned.

She poked him in the chest and he laughed before lifting a hand to her hair.

"I _am _being serious about this. I hope you believe me? It's not just about sex with you. At least, for me it isn't." He hoped it wasn't just sex for her either. He tucked her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek, resting a thumb on her lip. "This is the face I fell-"

She had already heard him. He couldn't cover that one. She was relieved that it had almost slipped out.

"I believe you," she whispered against his thumb. She swallowed and then leaned in and kissed him tentatively. He lowered his hand from her cheek, clasped his hands around her back once more and gave the gentle kiss his best.

As they kissed, Niles's manhood began to swell between them. CC shifted to graze herself against him.

"See?" He said. "You do things to me, woman."

He kissed her silly grin until they were both moaning and sighing and rubbing themselves against one another. Niles lifted her by the hips so that she was standing on her knees and he slid his pajama bottoms down. She bent her head down, continuing with their kisses, before she lowered herself onto him. They grunted alike at the sensation and began rocking rhythmically as they kissed.

CC kept repeating his name in whispers and gasps as she rode him. She was enjoying being in control this time. Or so she liked to think. She had no handle on the way she was moaning his name. She had barely even realised she was doing it.

Niles had. He leaned the side of his head against her chest, attempting to catch his breath. He gripped his fingers around her sides below her underarms, his thumbs repetitively rubbing the sides of her mounds. She lifted her hands into his hair and pushed her nose down onto the top of his head to sniff his strands as she panted in time with her movements.

Niles lowered his hands to her waist and helped her increase the pace. CC saw him clutch a hand to his chest and she slowed.

"Niles? Your heart?" She panted, worriedly, still unable to stop moving completely - he felt too good.

"It's just racing," he gasped. "Keep going, babe, I lived for this."

Her body tingled at his endearment as well as his confession. She grabbed his face and delved her tongue into his mouth as she picked up the pace. She lowered her hand to his chest where his hand was placed. She took his hand in hers and held it tightly between them.

Niles caressed her thigh and then lowered himself onto his elbows. He reached out and pushed on her belly to encourage her to lean back. CC reached behind her to grab a hold of his thighs as she continued riding him and she began to shudder slightly as the new angle increased the friction against her G-spot. She gasped audibly, causing him to twitch inside of her even more so than he already had been.

Niles watched her as she lifted and lowered herself onto him at a pace that made her breasts jump. He wanted to pull her back into his arms and squeeze her breasts but he knew this angle would get her off soon. Her gasps became more irregular and her movements soon lost rhythm as she began jerking against him. He felt her muscles clench and her body turn stiff as she threw her head back and cried out in pleasure.

He reached out to touch her breasts as she struggled to catch her breath. She was surprised by his brazen move. She grinned and a laugh escaped as she gasped for air, still rocking her hips to help him reach his peak. Her chest was still heaving in his hand and he could feel himself losing control. He sat up properly and dipped his other hand to her core and started to tease her clitoris.

She cried out again as he used two fingers to pinch and rub her. She had just orgasmed seconds before and couldn't believe how easily he could push her back to the edge. She thrusted against him to meet his hand with more force. His penis was still hard inside of her and she started to tighten around him again. She was too near.

He grabbed a hold of her hips and swiftly flipped her onto her back. She screamed in surprised delight before he lifted her knee to his waist and frantically thrust into her.

"Niles!" She gasped as she felt herself reaching her threshold. He was still thrusting like a mad man when she reached her limit for the second time (the third or fourth that night!).

She felt his vessels pulse and throb and his erection finally jetted into her. Her name was thrown from his lips. _Her name: CC. _

He grunted and gasped for air. She rolled them over again and kissed him.

"Oh, God," CC breathed.

"You can call me Niles."

They both laughed and she pulled herself up higher on his body so that he would slip out of her. She propped her elbows on either side of his head and kissed him with her hair falling around them. She grinned down at his satisfied face. He lifted his hands to her chest and fondled her. She giggled and shook her head, looking up at the headboard. "What is it with men and boobs?"

"I don't know... You're a man with boobs, so _you_ tell _me_!" He teased.

"Watch it, Rochester, or you'll have _none _to play with," she smirked.

He smiled at her and she gently lowered her lips, watching his expression as she neared him. She kissed him lovingly and then flipped her hair to tilt her head the other way before kissing him again.

"Mmm... You taste good. Like honey."

"I thought that was you," he smiled.

He rolled them onto their sides and they rested, facing one another. CC laughed at his excited face. He looked like a kid in a candy store.

"What?" He chuckled.

She shook her head and bit her lips together.

Her body was still recovering from all of the endorphins running through her.

They stared at each other for a while. Niles reached out and rested a hand on her hip.

CC studied the contours of his face. She decided that perhaps there was something handsome about him. It was mostly in his eyes. She liked the way he was looking at her. _How the hell does he make me feel so..._

"I thought multiple orgasms were a myth," she whispered, somewhat abashed.

"I thought both our love-lives were."

She laughed. "Well, I don't know about you but I think I'm going to need to schedule my days around our love-life from now on."

"_Our _love-life?" He asked.

"Yours and mine. Didn't I tell you? This is going to take up quite a bit of your time. I don't think you realized what you were getting yourself into when you decided you wanted _me_," she grinned.

"No, I always knew you had a huge appetite," he teased as he reached out to touch her belly.

She swatted his hand away, giggling.

Niles sat up and reached over her to her side of the bed where they had left the food. He grabbed a banana and peeled it as he lay down on his back. He took a bite and then offered the banana to her. She bit off a chunk and they ate in silence, sharing glances and fruit.

As they finished it, CC surprised him by shifting closer and resting her head and hand on his chest. His heart almost stopped for a moment. She rubbed his chest and then wrapped her arm around his middle, resting her hand on his side.

When he started breathing again, he lifted a hand to thread it through her hair and he kissed the top of her head before wrapping his arm around her. They simultaneously breathed in deeply and chuckled at their timing. She snuggled closer to him and they fell asleep for the second time.


	7. Chapter 7

CC's head jumped with a start when a loud beeping began permeating her ears.

When she realised she had just been sleeping deeply and that it was an alarm clock that had woke her, she groaned and rubbed her tired eyes.

When her lookers were a little more focused and her sense of touch had started buzzing again, she gazed downwards only to see and feel Niles's chest below her. The alarm had woken him, too. He stretched to turn it off. CC looked up to his face and he smiled at her as caressed her back and leaned in to plant a kiss on her head.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she shrieked and pushed away from him, covering herself with the sheet.

Niles's sleepy smile crashed and he looked distraught as he sat up on his elbows to inspect her with wide, concerned eyes.

"You- Miss Babcock? I thought we-" He was lost for words. He didn't want to ask her if she regretted what they had done, or worse, didn't remember their night. His heart began to ache and he became choked up.

"Niles..." She sat a little straighter. "Relax, I'm just messing with you!" She chuckled. He didn't respond. She threw her head back. "Uugh, come on! We're not going to stop with the pranks are we?" She laughed.

He swallowed and then gently shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't the response she'd hoped for. She reached out and touched his shoulder to bring him out of the state he was in. She felt bad, which was new for her. She didn't think her joke would affect him _this _much.

"Niles?" She laughed nervously as the memory of his heart attack suddenly reared its ugly head in her mind.

He released a large breath of air and his stiffened body melted in relief. Still, he had neither smiled, nor smirked. "I didn't realize how much this would..." The rest of his sentence escaped them both. He cast his gaze downwards.

_...Mean to you? _She wondered and hoped. Her mouth had opened and now hung in suspense. "Neither did I," she said quietly. She lowered her hand from his shoulder to his fingers and he finally turned to smile at her. He rubbed his eye with his other hand and CC inched closer to him.

"Good morning," she said with a smile and pecked his cheek.

He chuckled. "That would have been a better start to the day for my sanity."

"Yeah, yeah, old man. Welcome to my world. I'll let you borrow some of my meds." She teased. He smirked at her_. _

She inched closer to him and craned her neck, pushing her face towards his. She grinned at him, awaiting his kiss. He grinned as well and leaned closer to her face but didn't take the chance.

"You're going to let me kiss you good morning now?" He whispered.

"No, I always sit like this in the morning. It stretches my neck for the day ahead." Only Niles would find her sarcasm charming. He chuckled and pecked her twice, rapidly on the lips. Her eyes closed and he looked at her smiling face before pecking her a third time and fourth time.

"I hope that alarm clock didn't mean our time is up?" She asked as she opened her eyes.

"I'm afraid I need to prepare for the day. Breakfast needs to be served."

She rubbed her lips together and watched his eyes dance over her bare shoulders. She lifted a hand to his face and leaned in to kiss him tenderly. The sensuality of it brought them closer, emotionally. She only caught on that it had once they had already parted. She felt at peace - as though she were alone at home in a bubble bath with a clear mind. She was comfortable. Ironically, it made her feel nervous.

If the kissing wasn't going to lead to (just) sex, she decided she needed to stop doing it or she'd get lost in emotions with him and he was the last person she thought she should be emotional about. She looked around the room. "Um... Where are my...?" She scratched the bridge of her nose.

He leaned over his side of the bed and reached to pick up something off of the floor. Her bra. He handed it to her with a sly smirk.

She snatched it from him, trying to glare but failing miserably.

He pulled on his robe and rose from the bed. He pushed the part of the sheet that had been covering him towards her so that she could wrap the whole thing around herself if she wished.

She smiled as she did so. _This_ _is going to be harder than I thought. Why does he have to be considerate of me now?_

She stood from the bed and searched for the rest of her clothes. He handed her the pair of panties he'd peeled off of her the night before. She blushed as she took it from him and he smiled at her bashfulness.

"Would you care to shower first?"

"Um, you can go ahead if you'd like?" She responded.

"Why don't I go down and prepare breakfast and you can take your time in here?"

"Okay." She said, feeling somewhat out of place as she slowly took in the fact that she was in his territory. It felt strange. She felt like a guest.

He walked around the bed and took and held her hand as he stepped into his night slippers. She knew he wasn't holding her hand for his balance. She didn't mind. His hand was warm. When he was in his slippers, he smiled at her and slipped an arm around her waist to kiss her gently on the lips. Then he left her in the room.

CC swallowed hard as she looked around his room. It was a mess of bed linen and strewn clothing items, not to mention the smell in the air - the smell of them - the smell of sex. A tiny laugh escaped her as she thought about how crazy it was that she was standing there in a sheet after having spent the night with Niles, of all people. She licked the smirk from her lips and she dropped the sheet from her body as a wave of confidence suddenly washed over her. She strode to the bathroom to jump into his shower with her head higher than usual, even for a Babcock.

As CC wrapped a towel around herself after stepping out of the shower, she couldn't help but feel like a new woman. She looked in the mirror and shook her head when her reflection grinned like an idiot. She brought a hand to her mouth to cover her smile and she felt the heat on her cheeks. This morning was the first time she walked out of a bathroom without inspecting the flaws of her body and fretting over what kinds of cosmetic procedures or products she should invest in. She reminisced about the way Niles had caressed her body and she smiled shyly to herself.

As she walked towards the bed to her clothing, there was a knock on the bedroom door. _Shit!_ She stood, frozen and silent.

After a moment, Niles entered the room and shut the door behind him.

"Oh, thank God it's you!" She exhaled, relieved.

"Never thought I'd ever hear those words coming from you." He chuckled. "I assume we are going to keep this quiet from the family?" It was a valid question. Her response wouldn't anger him either way. If it were out in the open, he'd be ecstatic but having things stay just between them would be just dandy, too.

"Um. Yeah... Just until we can figure out what we want to do about... us." She didn't intend on saying that. There wasn't supposed to be anything to figure out. She was _supposed _to be staying to work with Maxwell and have something casual with Niles - no strings attached. Apparently her subconscious thought otherwise. Her subconscious wanted her to think about the possibility of an "us".

_'Us' _he repeated in his head. He liked the sound of it. He nodded with a smile. "Agreed."

Her hand was still clutched to her chest. She realized she was still in a towel when she caught him looking at her legs. He licked his lips and walked around the bed to where she stood.

"Finished in there?" He pointed towards the bathroom.

She nodded. "Go ahead."

"I hope you left some hot water for me?" He smiled. CC noticed that his gaze had dropped again. He was looking down at her body once more, trying his damnedest not to but she _was _standing naked in a towel.

"Maybe you need a cold shower..." She commented.

"Hmm?"

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," she teased.

He looked up at her, realising he had been ogling her again. He smirked and stepped closer to her. "Did I greet you this morning?"

"What?" She asked. She had heard him but wasn't sure of his point.

He placed his hands on her hips and stepped right up to her, pulling her against him lightly. Her heart raced. He leaned in and kissed her for a few seconds before whispering against her lips. "Good morning, Babs."

Her tummy went crazy. He always did things she never expected, even when they had been enemies, so to speak.

With her eyes still closed, she lifted a hand to his chest, pushed her lips against his whisper and lingered there as she moaned into the kiss. She felt his bulge against her towel. It wasn't growing but it was quite evident. She never noticed it in his suits before. She pushed her hips against his to get a better feel. "Oh..." She smirked, "good morning to you, too." She raised an eyebrow to hint at what she was referring to. He smiled.

"Do we have to start this day?" He said. It was rhetorical. He lowered his hands to her ass and squeezed her. She laughed in surprise and jerked into him.

"Well... We both know you don't really do much work around here so we _could _steal a few minutes here and there?"

"Good." He grinned as he watched her lips, "because I couldn't even cook breakfast properly without thinking about racing back up here."

He enjoyed the wide smile that plastered itself to her face. "That memorable am I?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

He chuckled through his nose and kissed her. "Mmhmm."

"Mmmm," she whimpered into his mouth, "Let's call in sick today?"

They both giggled at that one.

Niles gave her one last smooch and then released her. "You'd better get dressed so that you can 'arrive at the mansion' without suspicion."

"Okay. And you had better shower so you don't have lipstick all over you and smell like Chanel No. 5." She laughed.

"What? It's no good on me?" He smirked.

"Only for _my_ eyes and nose." She smacked his buttocks as he turned to enter the bathroom. He arched a brow in delight.

She smiled after him and turned to the bed to grab her clothes and get dressed.

Niles was still in the shower when CC put on her earrings and slipped on her wristwatch. She was due at the mansion in about 10 minutes, or 30 (she was usually late) but today she wouldn't be as annoyed by the face of Nanny Fine this early in the morning. So CC decided to 'arrive' on time today. She slipped on her red blazer and looked around Niles's room._ I should run a brush through my hair, _she thought. She couldn't find one.

She knocked on the bathroom door just as the water was turned off. Her heart raced as he opened the door in his towel. She shouldn't have been surprised but she was beginning to see him in a whole new light. Things were escalating and their relationship had changed so quickly that everything they did around each other seemed so unexpected.

She was holding the towel she had just used. She tossed it at him. "Ugh, Niles, put some clothes on would you? It's too early for a sight like that..." She pretended to be disgusted.

He narrowed his eyes but knew she was teasing when he caught the twinkle in her eye.

"Do you have a hairbrush I could use?"

"For your shiny coat?" He smiled. "Sure."

She shook her head and followed him towards the cabinet in the bathroom. He handed his brush to her, saying, "I prefer your hair the way I left it."

Her scoff sounded more like an amused laugh. "You're incorrigible!"

He smirked and kissed her cheek before letting her leave. _This affection will be the death of me, _she thought with a smile.

She ran the brush through her blonde bob in rapid motions as she stepped out of the bathroom. She placed the brush on his nightstand and called out to him over her shoulder before reaching for the handle of the bedroom door. "See you out in the field, lover!"

She gasped when she felt him grab her from behind. "Ah, you scared me!"

He chuckled and kissed her neck. She turned in his arms to face him and kiss him properly. She pushed at his chest and licked her lips after ending the kiss. "Okay, that's enough now. I need to concentrate on looking normal and unsuspicious."

He snorted. "That'll be a stretch."

She smacked him lightly on the shoulder and turned to open the door a creak. She peaked outside and nearly yelped when Niles pinched her butt. She spun back around to wave a silently scolding finger in his smiling face. She stepped through the doorway when she was sure nobody would see her.

"Pssst!"

CC looked behind her. Niles's head had poked out through the slit in his door.

"I'll be thinking of you when I stuff the chicken for today's lunch," he whispered with a smirk.

CC ran her tongue over her teeth and shook her head. "Swine," she muttered with a grin.

"Sexy," he responded.

She laughed and reached out to push his head back into his room and shut the door. CC realized she was in a better mood than she had been in years. She was still giggling to herself when she reached the office.

She greeted Maxwell and Nanny Fine, complimenting Fran's outfit and even paying some attention to the unborn twins. She couldn't help herself. She was positively giddy as she jumped up to sit on the armrest of the green love sofa.

She was smiling like a fool, tapping her dangling foot against the air and hadn't even realized she was acting strangely.

She couldn't help but imagine dirty thoughts when Fran asked what had "got into her".

Niles entered as if on cue. He used her trademark, "Hello, hello" greeting. CC knew it meant she was still on his mind. He was smiling and they tried their damnedest not to look at each other. Niles walked out onto the patio, knowing he wasn't quite capable of hiding the chuffed grin on his face just yet.

Maxwell mentioned CC's resignation and she brushed it off, saying she'd had a change of heart. She was too busy watching what Niles was up to and wondering what he was thinking.

When the nanny pointed out that CC was wearing the same outfit as she had the previous day, the socialite made up some lie about wearing her favourite outfits two days in a row.

Then she decided she should stuff a cookie in her mouth or talk business or something to get her mind back on the rails.

Maxwell was not impressed about some or other Andrew Lloyd Weber issue and CC craned her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of Niles on the terrace.

When Maxwell ordered CC to make a phone call to set up an advert in the papers, she grabbed the phone and sat on the desk to start dialing. She pressed the button for the dial tone but before she pushed another button, she heard Niles shutting the door of the terrace. Her eyes bolted ahead of her. She could feel his presence nearing her. She couldn't help but glance his way. She couldn't concentrate on dialing the phone either. Fran asked a suspiciously 'on the nose' question as she left the room. They looked after her as she left. _Does she know?_

Niles finally looked at CC. Her eyes were wide.

"Do you think she-?"

"No... How could she?" He responded.

"Right..." She said. Their uncertainty made them both worried.

CC looked down at the phone in her hands. "Thank God they didn't ask too many questions about my resignation yesterday."

"Yes, I heard," he smiled. "I also heard you mention you would be wearing the same outfit two days in a row quite often from now onwards?" His smile turned into a smirk.

She smiled and reached for the pocket of his trousers, tugging him closer. "Don't judge me, Mr. You basically wear the same thing everyday," she teased.

He narrowed his eyes but at least her comment meant she had been paying some attention to him over the years.

She pulled on his pocket as she stood from the desk and it tugged him in her direction so that his lower body bumped against hers. She glanced over his shoulder at the door. He turned his head to see if anyone was there. No one. He looked back at her and she lifted a hand to take the watering can he was carrying and set it on the desk. She pecked him on the lips as she tugged on his pocket again. CC felt a sudden rush at the danger of being caught. Her heart was racing.

"Someone could see..." He sing-songed to remind her as her hand rounded his body to his butt. He leaned against her lightly and rested his palm behind her on the desk.

She sighed audibly. "We should find some place where we could steal a few free minutes..." She looked at the door again and then leaned in to nibble his lip and squeeze his butt cheek.

She laughed when she saw the look of surprise on his face. "Don't look at me like that. You opened Pandora's box. You knew what you were getting yourself into."

He grinned. "I didn't know quite how soon, nor how often, we'd be getting into it, Caca."

She licked her lips. "Well..." She took a step past him to leave the room but stopped. Over her shoulder she threw: "You had better stay on your toes. I could call for your assistance when you least expect it." She smirked ahead of her as she walked out of the office imagining his shocked face glued to the back of her head.


	8. Chapter 8

"CC, have you finished reading that script yet?"

She jumped at the sound of Maxwell's voice and almost dropped said script from her lap. "What? Oh! Um... Almost Maxwell, but it's not good, anyway. We should look at some of the others."

"Alright, CC, you go ahead and do that," he said as he wrote something.

She got up from the loveseat and tossed the script onto his desk.

"I uh, need some coffee. I'm going to find Niles - Merry Maid - so that he can make out- Make it!" She didn't know why she bothered to add the degrading nickname because it seemed Maxwell wasn't even listening to her any more. He barely acknowledged her slip.

CC made her way to the kitchen and felt a sudden stirring of butterflies in her tummy as she pushed through the swinging doors.

He was making lunch. He didn't look up. "I was just thinking about you."

She stopped in her tracks. "How did you know it was me?"

He looked up. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

She scowled at him but he could see the insecurity in it. He chuckled. "I'm kidding, Babcock. I can smell your Chanel."

Her heart skipped a beat and she stepped towards him.

"Even over all the detergents wafting around your nose?" She smirked.

He smiled. "Especially over those. It's a welcome distraction."

Her smirk faded into a timid smile as she placed a hand on the countertop of the island.

They were quiet as she watched him prepare Maxwell's meal.

He picked up the olive oil and spattered a few messy drops onto her hand to let her know he wasn't ignoring her presence.

"Hey!" She scolded playfully as she wiped her hand on the dishtowel in front of him. He smiled naughtily.

"Hungry?" He asked.

"Maybe... What are you offering?"

He looked up at her to judge whether her question had other implications. It did. She had a sparkle in her eye.

He set down the knife he'd been using.

"Where's Nanny Fine?" She asked.

"Out shopping for makeup."

She rolled her eyes. "That'll take a month."

He smiled. "And the kids are at school..."

She eyed his body from head to toe. "And Maxwell's an idiot. Grab that chocolate syrup," she ordered as she jerked her head towards the bottle on the kitchen table. Sylvia must have had waffles there that morning.

His eyes widened and he did as he was told while she walked to the refrigerator. She half-opened the door before she felt him come up behind her and push it shut. She slowly turned to face him, with a pleased grin. She put her hands behind her back and her shoulders lifted slightly as she became a little demure.

His eyes bore into hers and he leaned in in an attempt to steal a kiss from her. With a smile, she sidestepped away from him and towards the left side of the fridge. She watched him as she backed up into the little nook at the back of the kitchen near the second back door. She knew if someone were to walk through the swinging door, the fridge would at least provide _some _cover for them to gather themselves before being spotted.

He inched toward her and she took another step away from him, giggling in his face. She loved playing with him. He was growing restless. He just wanted to kiss her already. He stopped suddenly and dramatically flipped the lid of the chocolate syrup bottle and some of it spattered onto her chest and neck. She looked down with a mouth wide open.

"Freeze, Babcock! I'm not afraid to use it." He smirked. She lifted an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

He took a careful step towards her and she stayed put. He took another step and they were almost touching noses. He looked at her lips. She had begun to grin, which made him smile. He lifted a hand to her waist and she dropped her hand from her hip to give him space. He ran his hand down the side of her pale, floral dress, keeping his eyes locked with hers. He could feel the warmth of her body through the fabric. He was surprised and strangely intrigued by what she was wearing. It was so unlike her.

"This dress is new?" He asked.

"Mmhmm. I was feeling... womanly."

"I hope it was my doing." He smirked as he pulled her against his body and looked at the tiny chocolate droplets on her skin.

"It could have been," she nodded. "And so was this mess. Better clean that up, butler boy," she smirked.

He dipped his head and licked the droplets from her. Her chest vibrated under his lips from her deep giggle.

He lifted his head and squeezed some of the syrup into his mouth before leaning in to kiss her. She hummed and lifted her arms around his shoulders. He dove his tongue between her lips. She moaned in delight at the taste of his kisses.

He rotated their bodies and pushed her against the side of the fridge and kissed her harder with sheer abandon. She sighed his name and her leg lifted slightly off the ground to rub against his.

He dropped his tongue to her neck, ground his hips against hers and heard her whimper as she reached for the button of his trousers. He pulled his lips from her collarbone. "Here?" He asked, surprised.

"Shhh!" She grabbed him by the hair and pushed his face into the dip of her neck again, urging him to continue what he'd been doing earlier.

He grinned into her neck before continuing his assault. He tossed the chocolate syrup bottle onto the ledge near where they stood and he curled his hands around her hips, tugging her body tighter to his, if that were possible.

CC felt his arousal growing as she reached between them again and unzipped his pants. He rubbed his hands forcefully up and down her thighs a few times before slowly gathering the material of her dress and bunching it to bring it higher.

Niles almost lost it when he felt her hand grasp his penis within his pants. He was shocked that she was being so sexually aggressive with him. He had imagined and dreamed of her wanting him but he thought in reality he'd have to convince and persuade her to have more of these steamy episodes. He thought he'd be the one making all the moves.

Without his control, he jerked his pelvis against her hand as she pulled his member out of his trousers and slipped her tongue into his mouth. He squeezed her thighs even harder before he could gather enough mental energy to continue lifting the bottom of her dress. He lifted it just enough to give him access to her underwear. He let the back of her dress fall as he slid his hands to her butt with his wrists preventing the front of the dress from dropping.

The cool breeze against her now-bare legs heightened CC's senses. Niles pushed his bulge against her underwear and she whimpered. She grabbed the sides of her delicates and pushed the scrap of material down. She wiggled so that it would fall to the floor. She stepped out of it and crushed her body against his so that their cores were now touching.

Niles moaned into her mouth as he kissed her. He cupped and lifted her ass towards him and bent his knees slightly to line up with her. She leaned her upper body backwards to pull some of his weight against her as he slowly pushed his penis against her lips. She almost cried out into his kiss.

She reached down between their bodies, took a hold of him and lifted her leg against his thigh as she guided him into her. He pulled his face from hers to catch her expression. Her mouth was open in a silent cry and her frown was deep. It was a frown he liked on her - a frown of pleasure.

They began thrusting into one another so roughly that CC almost fell off-balance in her heels. He gripped her body tightly to keep her steady. She lifted her elbows onto his shoulders and splayed her fingers though his hair as he increased the already fast pace. She tugged his head back by his hair and kissed him violently.

"Auhh..." She moaned and he clasped her with an iron grip for a few pumps before he moved his hand to the thigh of the leg she had wrapped around him. He lifted her knee higher and tried to step even closer, banging her against the side of the fridge as he tried

to push as deeply as possible.

CC's moans became more and more frequent, which only served to fuel his desire. Soon he realized he was about to lose control. CC reached for the chocolate syrup on the ledge and squirted some of it into her mouth, kissing him as he thrust against her. The taste distracted him long enough to prevent him from coming before her. _God, it's as if she knew!_

As they licked and sucked the chocolate away from each other's mouths, he felt her body begin to stiffen and tremble. It brought him right back to the edge and he lost it just as she cried out his name as she came.

"Auh... Uaahh..." She continued gasping and she tightened and clenched around him as he dropped his head to her neck and continuously tugged and released her ass cheeks to rock her body into his, unable to move his own hips anymore.

She slowly lowered her leg from his hip. Her pulse was racing. He was bound to feel it with his head planted in her neck. He lifted his face to hers and felt her muscles twitch. He smiled at her, pleased that her reaction wasn't just a one-time thing. It happened everytime he looked into her eyes.

He slowly bent to slip out of her.

"You do some of your best work in this kitchen," she teased as her dress dropped down between them.

"My skills work in other locations, too." He winked as he stuffed his manhood back into his pants and zipped himself up before anyone could see.

"Remind me later to test that," she smirked as she rubbed her palms against his chest.

He bent down in front of her and helped her step into her panties and he pulled them back up her legs and into place for her. Her heart jumped as she thought about a bride's garter at a wedding. During Fran and Maxwell's wedding, she had rolled her eyes from the dance floor as Maxwell was too shy to reach under Fran's dress to search for her garter in front of the crowd of guests. Niles would probably have removed CC's garter with pride and a lopsided grin. _Not that I'd marry him! _She tried to remind herself as she looked down at him. He was on bended knee, looking up at her with a smile before he stood.

Suddenly her mind started to conjure up images of herself in a wedding gown, dancing and having fun at her wedding reception... Niles grabbing her and kissing her tenderly and then spinning her around the dance floor with a grin stuck on his stupid, butler face. They'd have eyes only for each other. She couldn't care less about who the guests would be. _Fuck._

Niles played with her hair as her eyes darted around. He knew she must be thinking about something intensely. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead before looking at her again. She looked at him. She remembered the look on his face on the night of Fran and Maxwell's wedding when he had danced with her. They had had fun... From what she could remember.

Niles kissed her tenderly on the lips.

She closed her eyes thinking about the morning after. She'd woken up in the guest room on top of the covers. She'd had a hangover and her pajamas had been twisted around in all directions. She knew they couldn't have slept together. She would have remembered. And she would have woken up naked. She wondered what would have happened if they'd woken up in each other's arms, bare-skinned.

"I don't know why we always complicated our time in the past. We should have started this years ago..."

He raised his eyebrows at her. _Now she wishes she had been with me years ago? Who is this woman? And why didn't I make a move earlier? _He smiled, hoping it was a sign that their trysts were getting to her; a sign that she was considering a relationship with him - one that could last years.

"I concur," he said. "I was a coward."

She watched as his gaze drop. She realized he was insecure about them. "It's a good thing you were. I probably would have ruined it. It's great the way it is now." She surprised herself with what was coming out of her mouth. It was her turn to look down. "What made you eventually propose?"

He was caught off guard by the question.

"I... couldn't hold it in. I couldn't... wait anymore. Our lives were passing us by and I hoped we could... stay together. I hoped you wouldn't find someone else and leave me alone in the mansion."

"You make it sound as if we were already a couple," she said and laughed quietly.

"To be honest, I always considered you in that way."

She watched his sad eyes as they dropped to her lips and then to the floor.

Her tummy lurched. "You had a funny way of showing it." She said it gently so he'd know it wasn't an attack.

He looked up at her. "I assumed we were on the same page. I thought deep down you must have felt what I did. I mean I practically hit you over the head, daily, just to gain your attention."

They chuckled.

"I thought that was just to annoy me."

"Some of it was..." He smirked.

She licked her lips and smiled again. "I think from now on you should be more direct. I can do without the physical violence."

He laughed and she kissed him.

"Okay. I can do that." He smiled against her lips.

"You can start now," she said as she pushed past him towards the back stairs. "Bring that chocolate syrup. We're going to your room." He grinned as he followed her, syrup in hand. She stopped and pushed him away from the stairs. "The olive oil, too. You owe me a massage after all the years of abuse." She winked at him. He ran to grab the olive oil and they bolted up the stairs, giggling.


	9. Chapter 9

Niles hopped out of the shower, chuckling. CC jumped out right after him and tried to steal the towel he was wrapping around himself.

"We'll have to share," he laughed as he pulled her against him and wrapped the towel around their waists. He decided not to point out the extra towels on the rail.

CC lifted her arms to drape them around his shoulders. She attempted to kiss him and found it a feat with all of their giggling getting in the way.

"Ugh," she scrunched her nose. "You feel disgusting when you're wet." She laughed at her own admission. He chuckled and jiggled his chest against her causing her to laugh harder.

"Luckily for me, _you_ don't." He smirked and kissed her. Their giggles calmed as they embraced each other gently.

CC sighed as she pondered over how long they had known each other and how easily they had slipped into this.

She pecked his lips with her eyes closed. "This is probably the longest and most genuinely enjoyable-"

_Relationship?_ He hoped it's what she had intended to say before she stopped.

He watched her as she searched for words.

"Um... time... that I've had. With another person." She gazed into his eyes and swallowed as she realized what she had been feeling - what she had almost said. She was surprised that her mind hadn't jumped to the word "fling", but rather, to the word "relationship". She hoped that saying "time" would quiet her subconscious for the time being.

His hand travelled up her damp back to rest between her shoulder blades. "I'm glad you're enjoying us." He said it in a serious tone. "Because I am too. It just feels... right."

He hoped she would agree. He knew there was a bigger chance she wouldn't.

Every time she would doubt their situation and build a wall, he would say something to make it crumble - to make her realize his feelings for her ran so deeply that he would keep breaking down that wall.

She swallowed. She wanted to agree with him but she didn't want him to take it as a step towards a serious relationship - or a proposal, knowing him. She wasn't ready to encourage that kind of thing. Things were going well and she didn't want it complicated. She didn't want to be forced to ruin it if he put her in the position to break his heart. She was happy with the way things were going. She'd never been happier.

She lifted a hand to his cheek and caressed him while looking into his eyes. She leaned in and kissed him tenderly. "Can you believe we're here after all this time?" She whispered.

He nodded. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

She realized he was probably right. There had always been some tension between them; some passion, even if it had started as annoyance or hatred... it had still been passionate.

"I knew since the moment we met that I would someday be making real or imaginary love to you." He smirked.

She laughed and lightly, playfully slapped his jaw. "No, you didn't!"

He laughed too. "Okay, not really. At first you annoyed me but I _was_ somewhat attracted to you for God knows what reason."

"From the moment we met?" She asked, slightly alarmed.

He shrugged. "It took me a while to realize it."

She snorted and then grinned. "I was a plump brunette back then."

"And a secretary, too. I thought my chances were better."

He laughed when she poked him in the ribs.

"I was never easy!" She said quickly. She wondered if he really thought she was the type of woman to sleep around. She had had some fun in her time but most of the stories she told to the family were lies to shut him up about her not having a date.

"No, in fact you've always been quite a _difficult _woman," he grinned.

She narrowed her eyes at him as if he were a cheeky child. "I can't be _that _hard to please... I'm here with you aren't I?"

He laughed. "Touché! I suppose you are somewhat manageable."

He emphasised the last word by cupping her butt. He saw a hint of a smile on her face.

They looked at each other for a few moments. Niles knew she enjoyed their banter just as much as he did but talking in riddles was what had kept them from making leaps together in the past. It had slowed them down. He was certain she would run for the hills if he approached her, head-on, with all of his thoughts and emotions but he decided that sharing a little bit here and there couldn't hurt...

He lifted his hand from her butt to her lower back.

"Miss Babcock?"

"Yes, Niles?"

"I really have cared about you for the longest time."

Her heart leaped into her throat. His confessions were always surprising, whether he tossed them out jokingly or said them as seriously as he had now. She had never realised how soulful he could be.

"I wish I had known." She looked down between them. She wondered when his slight attraction to her had turned into something deeper. She wondered whether she would have reacted differently if she had known earlier. She wondered if she would have rejected him if he had told her when Maxwell was still unmarried and she was still blindly chasing the illusion of what she thought she wanted.

"I wish I had shared my feelings with you years ago." He confessed.

Her head shot up. _Years?! _She thought. He hadn't told her just how long he'd truly felt the way he did about her and when exactly it was that he'd decided he wanted to propose. She thought it was a couple of months at the most because that was when she had started to notice little things - the way he hadn't wanted her to leave during the holiday... and how he had seemed genuinely happy to see her after she had returned from being trapped in the blizzard.

CC started to like the idea of him having feelings for her for a long time. It made her wonder what exactly he had liked about her and thought about her during their banter over the years. It made her wonder whether he had stolen glances at her while she wasn't looking. _That_ thought made her skin tingle.

"You can tell me everything now..." She suggested with a hopeful smile.

He hunched his shoulders and looked down. "You make me nervous," He said with a bashful smile.

Her body tingled again and she frowned through her smile. "I do?"

He chuckled as he added, "I can't believe I just said that. I just freely provided you with a fresh round of ammunition."

She grinned and kissed him. "You're not getting out of this one. You'll be telling me sooner or later. Just don't start it with another proposal." She lifted a warning eyebrow and smirked.

Niles laughed. "I know, I know. No proposals..."

She nodded her head in approval.

"Yet."

Her eyes widened and he laughed at her. "Relax!" He kissed her so he wouldn't have to say he was joking. Because he wasn't.

"I had better get dressed and get back to work. Maxwell must be wondering where I am," she said as she suddenly recalled that she had left the office 'to get coffee'.

"Me, too."

"You know," she said as she pulled on her floral dress and ensured her hair was still draped up in loose, wispy strands as she'd done it that morning. "It's nice having a lover who lives where I work."

His heartbeat quickened when she referred to him as her lover. "Because it's convenient when you're running late for work?"

She shook her head. "Because we can run up here whenever we want." She winked and walked up to him to hold him.

"We don't have to run up here. There's more than one way to skin a cat. You should know, witch," he teased.

She smirked and kissed him. "Stop," she said with a smile and kissed him again. "We'll finish this later." She kissed him a third time. "Stop."

He laughed. "I'm not doing anything."

She kissed him a fourth time. "Okay, that was the last one." She said it aloud but he knew she was still talking to herself.

He released her and walked to his nightstand to pick up the empty bottles of chocolate syrup and olive oil.

"Just getting rid of the evidence," he said as he put his free hand on her lower back and led her to the door.

"We finished them both?" She asked, surprised.

"We actually used most of the chocolate syrup yesterday..." He replied and they both laughed evilly.

"And the olive oil..." He continued, "Well... it _was _a full-body massage..." He winked as they stepped into the passage.

Before they went their separate ways, she muttered to him, "It was a little _more_ than that."

He took her hand and kissed it without bothering to look around for any lurking Sheffields.

CC tilted her head and smiled as she watched him. He caressed her hand with his thumb before dropping it.

CC felt her body grow warm all over. For the first time in her miserable life, she felt as though someone was actually acknowledging her for more than just her business savvy. Someone was seeing and treating her as a woman.

_That someone is unfortunately Niles but I could learn to live with that, _she decided.

Niles smiled at her before he turned to go his separate way. CC stood for a moment, watching him, before she twirled and floated back to the office feeling as though the springtime had come early.

Maxwell started ranting about a problem with Yetta and a play. CC wasn't really listening. Everything seemed so trivial compared to the way she was feeling. Nothing could ruin the beautiful day she was having.

She ran to the terrace doors, her intuition telling her they should be open so that they could enjoy the day. The warmth of the sun and the scent of garden flowers in the air only lifted her higher. A bird flew down to greet her and she started singing. She was enjoying the moment so much that she didn't stop to ask herself what the hell had got into her.

Luckily Niles did.

"When did you become a Disney princess?"

She turned to see him standing behind her with a stack of envelopes. She stepped toward him, smiling and the bird flew away as if it knew that three would be a crowd.

"What have you got there?" She asked.

He looked at the load in his arms. "A few more scripts since yesterday. Surprisingly, Maxwell's already read them all by himself."

She giggled. "I suppose I haven't been pulling my weight lately."

"Oh, don't worry, no one would expect you to have the muscle to lug something that heavy anywhere."

She pursed her lips, battling her smile while he smiled freely.

"Were you stalking me?" She asked with a smirk.

"I saw you out here looking all feminine in your floral dress, that soft hairdo and a little bird on your finger... I thought I was hallucinating so I came to get a better look."

She laughed and looked into the office to see Nanny Fine and Sylvia talking to Maxwell. She walked past the doors, towards Niles and squeezed his shoulder as she passed him and walked into the house through the second set of doors.

He smiled after her and went to deliver the second load of scripts to the messenger at the front door before returning his own script back to his bedroom. As soon as Maxwell received a third pile, that script would be making its appearance in the office again.

He wondered what CC would think of his play. He wouldn't dare let her read it. It was too revealing and on the nose. And the ending was a little exaggerated - the socialite in his play had accepted the butler's proposal. He smiled to himself as he placed it in the drawer of his nightstand.

cccccccccccc

Later that afternoon, Maxwell told CC he had schmoozed Sylvia into signing the rights to Yetta's Letters over to them. She didn't know why Sylvia was the one he had to talk into it but she knew she wouldn't have had to take someone to Paris and London to get them to do what she wanted in business.

She didn't care though. It was about time Maxwell did some of the shitty work. The only reason CC was so good at schmoozing was because she had always been the one to do it.

"... And we'll be opening in six weeks!"

"What?" CC asked.

"Six weeks, CC. I think this is going to be a big one! Andrew Lloyd Webber was seething when he heard Yetta's signature was meaningless to him! It was absolutely thrilling!"

CC laughed excitedly with the knowledge that they could be up for a Tony this season if all went well.

The weeks were jam-packed with work but CC forced herself to focus. Niles wasn't there to distract her at the theater but her thoughts would often wander away from her, especially on the day he'd driven her to the theater in the town car. She hadn't asked him; he'd insisted.

CC had been shuffling through documents on the way and Niles had placed a hand above her knee to gain her attention as they stopped at a red light. She looked over at him and smiled. He leaned in and kissed her and her tummy did somersaults. She _still _hadn't got used to this.

_Well... It __**is**__ the first production I'm working on while having this... affair with him, _she explained to herself. _So, I suppose there are still some things to get used to._

She smiled into the kiss and lowered her documents into her lap. A horn started honking behind them and Niles pulled away and quickly started driving, realizing the light had turned green. She chuckled at his embarrassment and looked out of the window.

"Wal-Mart." She said softly as she spotted the store coming up.

"Need to get something?" He asked. His hand was back on her leg.

She placed her hand atop his and squeezed it before slowly drawing his hand higher on her thigh. "I think so."

He looked over at her to find her grinning. He swerved into the lane he needed to be in to get to Wal-Mart. She laughed and looked at the cars behind them to check that Niles hadn't caused an accident.

He parked the car and looked at her hand resting on top of his on her thigh; and then he looked up at her. She smirked and licked her lips.

"Are we... going inside?" He asked, trying not to smile.

She leaned over and kissed him, then quickly pulled away, pushing at his chest so that he wouldn't follow. She opened her car door and jumped out. He was almost out before she was.


	10. Chapter 10

As she walked towards the entrance of Wal-Mart in a head-held-high, Babcock kind of manner, she felt him come up beside her and brush his hand against hers. She slowed her pace and looked around them with bulging eyes. "Niles?!"

"We aren't as likely to run into your crowd here... We could hold hands freely," he said as he leaned in to give her an up-close view of his naughty smirk. It dropped when she didn't reflect his excitement. "Unless... unless you don't want to?" He said quietly and withdrew his hand from hers.

She watched him as he wrung his wrists and looked anywhere but her face.

She looked around again at the people passing them by. Suddenly a toddler ran up to Niles and hid behind his leg. Niles looked down at the little girl and then looked past CC when he heard a woman, who must have been the child's mother, shouting.

The woman ran up to them, scolded her daughter and then looked up at CC and Niles as she took the little girl's hand to tug her from her hiding place.

"Sorry," she panted as she adjusted the strap of her handbag that had budged from her shoulder, "One minute they're an adorable bundle of joy, refusing to let go of your little finger, and the next they can't get away fast enough! Kids!" She laughed.

"It's no bother, ma'am. I know how children can be," Niles said, smiling, as he ruffled the little girl's hair.

"Oh, you must have kids then?" It sounded rhetorical. "People who don't aren't usually as forgiving." She laughed.

"I don't actually," Niles responded, "but I can manage them." The woman smiled and nodded in understanding. Lately CC found herself quite interested in the things that Niles would say. Especially when he was talking to someone other than her. She watched quietly as he smiled at the child and tried to coax her off of his leg.

"Come on, honey. Let go of the nice man's leg," the woman said to her toddler before she looked back up at Niles and CC. "You two should enjoy it while it lasts!"

"Oh... we aren't..." Niles said as he looked over at CC, hoping she wouldn't be offended by the woman's comment.

"We aren't quite there." CC finished and the woman smiled at them. CC could see Niles's grin out of the corner of her eye. She avoided meeting his gaze and rather glanced at his hand before gently threading her fingers between his.

She looked up at him quickly before turning back to the woman. His face was illuminated. She knew that look. He had that look after the first time they'd slept together. He'd had that look when she had told him it wasn't going to be a one-time thing. CC directed her smile at the woman so that Niles wouldn't know she was smiling because of him.

"Mommy, I need to _go_!"

"Okay, I had better find a ladies' room... You two enjoy your shopping!" The lady sang as she trotted away.

Niles turned to CC and she bit her lips as she squeezed his hand. "Let's get moving. I have to be at the theatre soon." Niles should have known she'd change the subject before he could say anything. He smiled happily as she pulled him along.

"Was there anything in particular you needed?" Niles asked when he noticed they had walked slowly up and down a few aisles without CC really bothering to look at the items.

"Ummm." She looked around as she rubbed her thumb against his hand. He smiled.

"Is this why women take so long to shop? They go in without a plan? Now I'm no longer surprised that you never had good comebacks ready for me in the past."

"I did. I never had to prepare. They practically wrote themselves when I looked into your eyes."

He liked it when she tried to taunt him.

"And just how did you feel exactly when you looked into my eyes?" He asked.

"Hmmm..." She looked to the ceiling to contemplate for a moment. "Nauseated."

He scrunched his eyes, making her laugh.

They strolled towards an area where there were less people. It so happened to be an aisle full of cleaning products and tools.

Niles didn't ask whether she was worried about being late getting to the theatre. He was enjoying their closeness and the moments they were sharing together. He had what he had always wished for - he could hold her and touch her and listen to her stories without needing an excuse to come into the office at the mansion. He could tell her what he really thought about her - just enough so as not to scare her away. And he could make love to her... And she'd let him.

There was one thing bothering him though: she could end this at any moment; she could meet someone else or she could grow tired of Niles. He was a sitting duck. He wasn't confident that she really wanted to be doing this with him. He wasn't sure how long she'd give him. He realized he had been the one sharing his confessions more than she had - she had barely shared at all.

"Miss Babcock?" He stopped and took a hold of her other hand so that she would turn to face him.

"What? ...Why are you looking at me like that? You're not going to propose again are you?" She laughed.

He smiled but she could tell something was bothering him. "No, um. Did you- in the past, had you ever felt anything for me? I mean... Anything positive at all?" He wanted to be specific so that she couldn't joke about it.

"I- Niles, I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders up high and almost pulled her hands from his but he kept a firm hold.

"I need something; anything, really. A tiny thing to put me at ease."

"Why- What do you mean? Why are you asking me this?" She frowned.

"Because it would be easy for you to run if you didn't care." He said it gently, quietly. They were in a public place and he knew she might not want to be seen with him, let alone be emotional in public because of him.

"I care, I just..." She looked down at their joined hands. "I'm not good at sharing my- you know?" She looked around anxiously.

He knew the people would distract her. The noise and bustle was a good way to get CC to talk honestly. Quiet, deep, one-on-one moments with too much attention on her only served to make her too uncomfortable to share.

"I suppose there was some kind of attraction... maybe." She shrugged and looked at a man who walked past with a case of beer. She realized she hadn't had a drink since she started... seeing Niles.

She looked at him. He was smiling. "Really?" He asked.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, okay! Yes, I was always a little..." she shrugged, "curious."

He raised an eyebrow but she didn't see it because she had pulled one of her hands from his grasp and was scratching her head as she looked at no particular spot on a shelf next to her.

"Curious?" He repeated.

"Ugh, Niles." She started to walk down the aisle as if looking for something.

He followed, listening for her next response as she stopped and touched a few of the items on display.

He watched her from behind as she stood, shaking her head. "I was curious about what it would be like to...be with you, I guess. I told you this already! The first time we..."

He hadn't forgotten her little confession the first time they'd slept together. "_I've fantasized about this", _he recalled. He had been over the moon about those words - and still was - but that's not what he was asking of her now.

"Oh."

She turned around to read why he sounded disappointed.

"It was only about sex?" He asked. "Feelings of lust?"

Her mouth opened and she wasn't sure how to respond. "I um... No, not always." She felt her blood heating up at her vulnerability. She hated feeling this way. "Don't ask me these things!" She continued walking briskly.

"Miss Babcock," he sighed. _One step forward, two steps back, _he thought as he tailed her.

"What!" She said defensively even though he wasn't really attacking.

"I think I've been quite transparent regarding the way I feel about you. I'd like to hear what you meant by your 'Not always'?"

"You can figure it out. What does it matter if I say it?"

"It matters to me." He said lacing his fingers together.

She frowned. She contemplated how to express herself. She wished there were classes she could take to help with this sort of thing. "You haven't _really _told me how _you_ feel," she said to turn the spotlight away from herself. She knew he had spoken more from the heart than she had but she needed him to remind her it was safe to open up.

His eyes almost popped out and rolled away on the shiny store floor. "Of course I have! Have you been living under a rock? I proposed for heaven's sake! You know how much I care about you!"

CC was surprised by his outburst. He'd never been so passionate in his declaration of feelings for her. It had always been quietly hinted. He'd given her little snippets here and there. Most had been masked by a joke or followed by a taunt of some sort. And she had never really taken the proposals to mean _that _much because she never thought there was much depth to them - until she pulled that prank on him the other morning. He couldn't have been as offended by it if he hadn't had deep feelings for her. She had known it had meant he didn't want it to be a one-night stand. His reaction had told her she meant something to him. She just wasn't yet quite convinced of what.

"Miss Babcock, I love you."

This time she was the one who had to keep her eyes from jumping out if their sockets.

She hadn't expected this. Her heart began to pound hard against her rib cage and her complexion paled in shock.

_Bullocks. I just told her in Wal-Mart in an aisle filled with household detergents. _

He had planned on saving the words for a romantic moment - a moment when he thought they'd be ready for it. But now he'd ruined it. _This is the last thing she'd want. No fancy dinner or grand gesture... It'll just remind her what she'd be settling for._ _She'll run, _he assumed.

She didn't. She lifted a hand to a feather duster on display next to her. She touched the feathers but her eyes were still glued to his face. "You..." She took a breath, her shock catching up with her, "you love me?"

He tried to decide whether she looked disgusted or upset... or were those blue eyes reflecting relief?

He wouldn't take it back the way Maxwell had with Fran. He meant it and would stand by his words no matter how uncomfortable they might make her. She needed to know. He nodded slowly.

She swallowed and then released a sharp breath. "I don't know what to say."

She knew what most people would say in such a situation. _I love you, too. _She didn't feel ready to say it just yet. In fact, she couldn't remember ever having said it. She couldn't remember having heard an "I love you" to which to respond.

Niles was relieved that she didn't laugh or run the way she had at his proposals. He spoke gently, treading lightly so that she wouldn't just listen but really hear him. "You don't have to say anything. As long as you know that I do. As long as you heard me and know that I mean it, that's all that's important."

She lifted her brows and looked at her fingers on the feather duster as she let his words sink in. Then she looked up at him as she felt his presence nearing her. He had taken a few steps and was standing facing her. He was pulling at his fingers nervously.

Niles wanted her to grab him and kiss him and be overjoyed over what he'd just told her. He wanted her to be excited or pleased or delighted.

"May I hold your hand again, Miss Babcock? We can continue shopping...?"

She gazed into his eyes. She felt there was something intriguing about the way he would ask her permission; the way he was so careful with how he would address her. He was so different to the Niles she had battled over the years and the one she had thought she knew.

_This is supposed to be a fling. An affair. Isn't it? _She wasn't sure what was happening anymore. He was changing the game again.

She dropped her hand from the feather duster to let it hang at her side like her other hand been. She watched him as he waited for her. She reached towards his hands and took hold of them, stepping closer until she could lean her cheek against his and quietly say,

"Only if you kiss me first." She smiled and closed her eyes to rid herself of the butterflies she felt when she so openly asked for his affection. He was the one who was supposed to want it, wasn't he?

"You're already holding my hands," he smiled and smelled her hair.

"Whoops," CC turned her face to his.

They half smirked at each other and CC waited for Niles to pull in and meet her lips. He kissed her tentatively and she squeezed his hand as he pulled away.

She blinked a few times before stepping a tiny bit closer and pushing her lips to his again. She smiled when they parted from each other. Niles hadn't realized how tense he had been until he felt himself relax. He knew her well enough to know her kiss was a thanks. Her reaction meant she was happy with what he'd said.

CC noticed a storage room at the end of the aisle. She tugged on Niles's hand and led him in its direction. She looked around before pulling him inside with her and shutting the door behind them.

Niles drew her into his arms and pecked her lips a few times, making her feel giddy. "I must tell you something."

CC eyed him. "There's more?!"

"Not quite along those lines, I'm afraid. I'm going to be leaving for London soon," he said.


	11. Chapter 11

"What?! Why? When are you leaving?"

"I have a family reunion. I leave within the next few days. I've been meaning to tell you."

She took a minute to digest his words as well as how she felt about him leaving. Her mind had immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario - that he'd use it as an excuse to end things or he'd be gone for a long time. _It's just a reunion,_ she thought, relieved.

"How long?"

"A couple of days at the most." He lifted a hand to thread his fingers delicately through her hair and then he leaned in and kissed her gently.

"It's partly the reason I need to know how you're feeling or what you're thinking... I need to know you won't... find someone else while I'm away... Will you?"

Her nervous heart settled and she kissed him in response. He wrapped his arms around her middle and hummed into the kiss.

CC decided she should give him something to put him at ease. She herself was feeling a little anxious about him leaving and at least she had his "I love you" to hold onto while he'd be away.

She popped her lips from his. "Niles," she said and kissed him again. "I think I do have feelings for you." *_kiss*_

He drew his head back to view her face. When she opened her eyes, she smiled at him. He grinned like a schoolboy.

"Say that one more time, Miss Babcock?"

She chuckled, certain he'd heard what she had said, but she repeated herself anyway. This time she whispered it against his lips with more certainty. "I have feelings for you."

"Bad feelings? Like nausea or disgust?" He asked in his deep baritone, displaying his skepticism.

She shook her head and giggled. "The good kind." She touched her fingers to his jaw. "The kind you want."

He grinned and kissed her hungrily, pulling her body tightly against his. He slowly coaxed her lips open with his own and she dipped her tongue into his mouth before he could do the same to her. She moaned when he lowered his hands to pass them over her butt cheeks and onto the backs of her thighs.

"Mmmaybe some naughty ones, too," she mumbled devilishly into his mouth.

"Mmm," he hummed his delight and slowly walked her backwards until he had her lightly pressed against the wall behind her. She lifted her hands to his face as they kissed.

"I'll miss you while you're gone."

His heart skipped a beat. Now she was giving him more emotional honesty than he'd expected. He pushed himself against her and lifted his hands high on her sides and then slowly rubbed them back down to her hips and thighs.

"I'll miss you more." He said, grinning at her before planting wet kisses on her neck.

She sighed as she tilted her head to the side to enjoy his exploration of her body. One of his hands travelled into her blazer and made its way under her shirt. He tickled his fingertips over her goose bumps in the direction of her bra. He slowed his caress and listened out for her moan when he lightly grazed her breast and kissed her under her jaw. Her moan escaped, as he had expected. He smiled knowingly and lifted his other hand under her shirt, raising the material as his hands travelled higher to fondle her breasts.

"Niles..." She muttered softly and carefully, "I like the way you touch me."

His pants were suddenly two sizes too small. He had asked to hear what she was thinking and feeling but he didn't think it would turn him on this much. He struggled to control himself and squeezed her breasts a little harder than he'd intended. She didn't seem to mind by the sound of her aroused groan.

"I like the sounds you make when I touch you," he said into her hair as he danced his hands across her belly to the waistband of her pencil skirt.

Her nether region tingled at his words and she bucked her hips forward at his touch. "Uuh!" She lifted his head from her neck so that he would face her. She teasingly licked the middle of his lips with the tip of her tongue. He looked at her, surprised. She smirked and watched him as she leaned in again, still holding his face in place, and pushed her tongue out to slowly graze it over the middle of his top lip. She opened her mouth and pushed his bottom lip open with her own, breathing into his mouth.

He gasped in impatience and crushed his lips to hers, wrestling with her tongue as he reached down to unzip his trousers. She pushed off of the wall to reach behind her for the zipper of her skirt and pulled it down quickly. The moment her zipper was undone, he grabbed a hold of the sides of her skirt and pulled it up around her waist before pushing himself against her body.

"I can't get enough of you!" He panted.

"Yoga mat," she replied.

"Huh?"

She pointed to a small pile of yoga mats near the corner of the room. He tried to pick her up but couldn't.

"You're too old and I'm too heavy," she mumbled with a laugh.

He smiled, swung her around and led her backwards until he could place her down on the mats on the floor.

"Oo!" she gasped in surprise when she felt the cold floor. She smiled up at him as she put her head down; her hair splaying out to frame her face. He kissed her and slipped her underwear off of her causing her to sigh. He lay down on top of her and began kissing her roughly as he pushed himself against her in an unsteady rhythm.

"I'm waiting," she gasped when he pushed his boxered penis against her. "I didn't rent this room by the hour. Someone could walk in on us so get it out please."

He chuckled and she did too as he reached into his trousers to pull out his member. She moaned when he rested all of his weight on her again as he positioned himself between her thighs. She lifted her knee and stood her heel on the floor beside his leg.

He tilted his body and slid into her. Her pelvis arched into his and he began rocking against her. She started to moan at every thrust and couldn't contain herself when he lifted a hand to touch her front where the waistline of her panty would be. He rubbed his palm against her pubic hair and, every now and then, he would squeeze his fingers as he pulled himself into her. She began breathing loudly, a few squeaks finding their way through her vocal chords.

"You love me?" She panted, unable to get it out of her head even though she could barely concentrate on anything but the pleasure she was experiencing.

"Yes," he confirmed as he rocked violently against her. "I do. I love you."

She panted and released a cry of revelry. She pulled him closer to her face and kissed him with all of the passion that was bubbling from her insides. "You love me," she moaned.

She accidentally bit his lip when she felt herself reaching her climax. He groaned deeply and the vibration of his voice against her sent her careening over the edge. He swore when he felt her muscles stiffen around his member. Her gasps and cries spurred him on and he went for the final stretch, bumping against her vigorously. He heard a voice over the intercom outside the room: "Good morning Wal-Mart shoppers..." CC delightedly squealed at the realization of where they were and Niles came at the sound of her excitement. She lowered her hands into his back pockets to grab his ass and held him there so that he wouldn't pull out just yet.

"Clean up on aisle sex," Niles joked.

She laughed in her deepest voice and squeezed his butt cheeks through his trousers. He looked down at her, trying to laugh through his panting.

She lifted a hand to cover his mouth. "Shhh! Don't laugh too loudly!" CC said as she attempted to stop herself from laughing as well. He chuckled into her palm and then pouted his lips to kiss her there.

She grinned, inched her hand to rest on his cheek and then lifted her head off of the yoga mat to place two satisfied kisses on his lips before dropping her head again and exhaling loudly.

He smiled and leaned in to give her two kisses as well. Then he slipped out of her and he brazenly gave her a light slap on her thigh as he got onto his knees to stand up. "Ooo!" CC gasped with a Cheshire grin, enjoying his little spank.

"Come on, Babs," he smiled, "Let's get out of here before someone finds us and makes us pay for the used goods." He smirked as he gestured towards the yoga mats from which he had helped her up.

She slipped her underwear up her legs as she chuckled at the thought of carrying out all the mats and having to explain the purchase. He helped her tug her pencil skirt back down over her hips and spanked her butt again. She giggled and snatched his hand, holding it tightly as they snuck out of the room and back into the public area, grinning like fools.


End file.
